Tales from our Houses
by Aqua and Luna
Summary: [Non-Voldemort AU] Here lays four houses of four different natures. They stand divided, united in a school destine to teach magic to those who need it. But what is a school when the students are at a standstill; at the crossroad of what is right and what is wrong? Here are the tales of four houses and their confliction to fix the divide that separates us all. [Contains OCs]
1. Chapter 1 Crocus

**Summary:** Here lay four houses of four different natures. They stand divided, united in a school destine to teach magic to those who need it. But what is a school when the students are at a standstill; at the crossroad of what is right and what is wrong? When will the conflict resolve itself, will it ever? Maybe, the solution is right here. Here are the tails of four houses and their confliction to fix the divide that separates us all. [No Voldemort Universe]

 **Rating:** T for caution and Harry Potter rated words

 **Main Characters:** Crocus, Viridus, Rufus, and Cyaneus (all OCs)

 **Disclaimer:** (1) I make a lot of references, I do not own any of them. I don't own anything, Harry Potter, either. This is Harry Potter you're talking about. I only own my six original characters that will appear throughout the story. Thanks for reading.

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 **Chapter One. Crocus.**

I gripped my trunk and lugged it onto the train that was about to leave in two minutes. I huffed as it got caught on the last step, tugging it a final time to get it loosened up. I headed to the left to look for a compartment. The first three were full. "Figures." I thought as I settled down inside the fourth compartment I could find.

After I placed my trunk with all my stuff inside it under the seat, I sat down and reviewed how my day was going so far.

You see, I was a witch.

Now now, don't go spouting this bit of information about. Because they'd probably think you belong in an insanity asylum for ever suggesting this sort of thing. But yes, I'm real. And right now I'm on the train to the most prominent wizardry and witchcraft school you could find near where I lived in England.

I got my letter a few weeks ago and my parents were thrilled. Well — that was until they saw the bill for everything. They basically dropped dead at that point. So we improvised and got what was sitting in my trunk at this very moment. I couldn't afford a pet, so I didn't get one.

"I wish we could've at least put some sort of enchantment on it so it wasn't so heavy. Sheesh." I muttered as I glared at the poor excuse for what Muggles called a backpack. "Man, if I had enough room in my pack, I could've taken that instead. Sadly, no such luck."

Suddenly, the door shuddered as another student peaked her head inside my compartment. It was a tall girl with slight curls in her hair, something you'd see if you took a curling iron to the ends of her hair. She was wearing the same thing I was, black robes that have yet to been tainted with the house colors. Her eyes were an icy silver and her whole character carried an air of 'don't mess with me.'

"Can I sit here? The other compartments said they didn't have any room left." The girl with silvery eyes asked as she stared at me uncertainly. I nodded curtly and she sat down lightly, tucking her trunk under her own seat.

"Sorry for imposing, but I looked all over the train in the other direction. This compartment was at the end when I came back to look the other way." my new companion stated shortly, "I'm Viridus Accinctus."

"Crocus Tutella, nice to meet you," I said back politely. She stared at me, her eyes scanning me and my trunk with a hint of curiosity and suspicion. I wiggled around in my own seat for a few moments until it became too much to bare. I pulled out my dull wooden trunk and unlocked the silver clasps. My long fingers searched the trunk until I could find the book I wanted.

My hands pulled out a beaten book with a handmade cover because the original paper cover had been torn beyond recognition. The cheap leather was imprinted with the book's title: Wings of Fire: the Dragonet Prophecy.

As soon as I opened the book, Viridus asked a simple question, "What house do you think you'll be in?"

"I don't know, my parents say I'll be in Hufflepuff," I responded before returned to the story.

Viridus responded back cooly, "I think I'm going to be in Slytherin."

"Cool," I responded shortly before becoming silent for the next few minutes.

"This is where the others usually tell me to get out of the compartment I'm in, although I usually ask it the first thing sitting down."

I looked up from my book, "I have no problem with Slytherin. I mean, it mostly rumors right? And no one is 100% black or white. People can't be bad just because of what house they're in."

Viridus kept quiet, and I let my eyes read the next five chapters. I had no idea how much time had passed, but the next time I looked up, Viridus had her eyes stuck to a Potions book. I clapped my book shut suddenly and headed out of the compartment to get changed.

Once I got back after pushing through a group of first years panicking outside the bathroom, I sat down with a sigh. I suddenly didn't feel like reading anymore. There was this no good feeling stuck in my stomach and my hands instantly reached up to my light brown hair that reached my shoulders. Twirling it absently in my fingers, I stared outside the window.

The landscape passed by so quickly, it was hard for my golden brown eyes to keep up. Forests passed by in a blink of an eye and the clouds bounced out of view if you didn't watch them hard enough. "I wonder what Hogwarts is going to be like." I mused inside my head.

"Do you know how long it is until we get to Hogwarts?" Viridus asked me without lifting her head from the potions book. You could tell from the tense expression on her face that she was thoroughly interested in the topic.

I shifted my body to reach into my open trunk and pull out a plastic blue muggle watch. "I think, in 15 minutes."

Viridus nodded. "Aren't you nervous?" I asked, weary already.

"No, not really."

I put my fantasy muggle made book away and dug around my chest until I pulled out a similar potions book to my compartment mate's. I scanned the table of contents until I found ingredients and started reading about it. The black haired witch looked up from her own textbook, "You like potions?"

"Yeah, so far, why?"

"Me too. I've read this book twice since I've gotten it."

I let a small smile get through, "It's definitely interesting, albeit challenging."

She nodded in agreement. Before I knew it, though, it was time to get off the train. My stomach did a flip and I made sure I had my wand before walking off the Hogwarts Express with Viridus. The next few moments were a blur of students as we pushed through the crowd. More like Viridus being a bit aggressive and pushing through ahead of me and I following her lead. Once she made her way to the shores where the boats were, we boarded onto it.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Five ter a boat, five ter a boat!" a huge man shouted on his own boat, waving a pink umbrella around. Viridus and I boarded a floating boat in front of us. The lake rippled as we put our weight on the water vehicle. I sat down next to my friend, you could barely see her in the pitch black darkness. Good thing the boats carried lamps. The light reflected in my glasses.

Before the boats could leave, three boys finally filled up our own. One had slicked back blonde hair with a higher up look to himself. He was surrounded by two stocky looking boys, both looked identical but I could tell they weren't. One was slightly shorter than the other, and their hair colors differentiated. But I got that feeling that they both were highly unintelligent.

"Malfoy?" Viridus asked as she lifted her eyes from a facts book she had brought along to 'keep her awake.'

"Accinctus." The blonde boy said back, "Why does it sound like you're surprised to see me here?"

"It's not that I'm surprised to see you here, I'm just surprised that you came here with those two. I didn't even know they were smart enough to get accepted into Hogwarts!" Viridus retorted back in a slightly drawling voice.

I couldn't help but agree. The two stocky students on the other side of the boy named Malfoy didn't even blink at the insult.

But I wondered, "How do you know these two Viridus?"

"All purebloods know each other." She responded back to me with a slight frown on her face. Pureblood. Blood types. My parents told me about them. I thought I had heard that word before.

Although the two Purebloods knew each other, they didn't talk to each other much. Instead, they preferred to send each other cold glares. The boats were pulled across the water and soon we turned around the corner. To reveal Hogwarts.

I was fascinated! It was a huge castle lit up by million of lights and the goliath scale of the whole area of amazing. Combine that with the fact that it was nighttime made everything seem mythical like it popped out of a mystery story! Everyone around seemed to be astounded by the sheer awesomeness of the castle too, Viridus smiled broadly. Draco seemed to grin softly and even the two lackey's next to him looked up to admire the building.

Before we even had time to open our mouths and make some sort of comment, the boats were guided into the castle. It all happened so quickly.

"Time ter get out an' get yerselves sorted." The large man announced as students started getting off the boats. I watched Malfoy walked around from us right away, his two lackeys not far behind. I looked at Virius and we walked together to the front of the crowd. Everyone got sorted in alphabetical order anyways.

Once we got to the front a tall older woman I assumed was a professor come out and quieted down the crowd. "Before you all are sorted, try tidying yourself up." The strict looking Professor let her eyes drop to a red-head boy next to me. Then she walked out of the door.

"What does she mean by that?" A small boy with messy black hair muttered to the boy with a splatter of freckles. I felt a jab in my side and Viridus directed my gaze to the Malfoy boy who started walking up to us. Not to us specifically. Because he stopped next to the two boys.

"Hello, I heard Harry Potter was coming to Hogwarts this year. It's you, isn't it?" He said to the shorter boy. The one with the green eyes and seemed a little too small for his age looked up at Malfoy. "Yeah, that's me."

"Oh, this is Crabbe and Goyle. And my name is Draco, Draco Malfoy." I was suddenly jerked forward with Viridus as she stomped forward and pushed past the other kids wondering what was happening. She came into range of the boys, and I finally saw them up close, with another bushy haired girl next to them I didn't see previously.

"What are you doing?" I asked in confusion when she broke Draco's eye contact. His grey eyes landed on the pair of us and sneered.

"Don't ruin this for me Accinctus!"

"What do you mean, I don't think you have the emotional capacity to hold down a real friend for more than a month." The icy blue eyes that belonged to the mouth that spoke those scathing words flickered to mine. I shivered slightly, reminded of a character I liked named Tsunami.

Draco glared at the both of us, "I was just trying to help Potter find the right friends."

"Well, I'm just trying to make sure you don't mess up Mr. Potter's brain by trying to become friends with him," Viridus replied cooly.

I could see that the red headed boy was watching the two with unease. "Guys, can we stop squabbling, we're going to get sorted soon!" I tugged on Viridus' arm and she surprised me by actually following me as I pulled her away. And, I was right anyways. Right after I got at least two people between Viridus and Draco, the doors blew open and the students were all asked to line up.

There, sitting still on a stool was a tattered hat that had apparently seen its fair share of students. It was bent and there were rips, but the founders made it stand the test of time. A large rip in its mouth opened up and sang a song. I didn't really pay attention to the hat as it sang its song. My heart did somersaults and felt like it was going to pound out of my chest. It was until I felt Viridus leave next to me that I started to focus.

"Accinctus, Virius!" The hat shouted loudly. I watched her walk, almost with no sound, to the stool. She picked up the hat and placed it on her head slightly tilted so her icy blue eyes were left open to view the whole school.

I didn't know whether the hat talked to her like my mom said the hat did, but after what felt like forever, the hat called out, "Slytherin!"


	2. Chapter 2 Viridus

**Chapter Two. Viridus.**

I half expected the girl, Crocus, to stick with me for as long as she had. But I guess it was alright. But what I didn't expect was the hat to actually consider me for Ravenclaw. It shocked me enough to actually think about it for a second. But no, I was confident I would do alright in Slytherin. Just like Flora said.

I tried to control myself as best as I could when I stood up from the stool and went to go sit at the Slytherin table. I didn't expect a lot of people to start clapping, but everyone was polite about it. Except for Gryffindor. I didn't expect much from them honestly.

When I took my place at the end of the table, I let my eyes scan the crowd of kids left to be sorted. I didn't know whether I hoped Crocus would be in my house or not. From what I gathered so far, she didn't seem like a good candidate for the house of snakes. I really hope she isn't a Gryffindor. I found myself wishing desperately.

There wasn't a lot to pay attention to until the hat got to someone I knew. So I let my eyes wander to the staff table. One of them had to be my head of the house. I vaguely remember Jacob telling me he was the Potion's master.

"Davis, Tracey." the hat shouted, but it got to my ears like I was underwater, "Slytherin!"

I continued to study the teachers. One of them was the burly man from the boats. And another one was the tall strict professor from the room before we got sorted. And I could tell one of them was the headmaster, his long white beard and the fact he was sitting in the middle of the whole table gave it all away.

Suddenly, the Davis girl was sitting down right next to me, interrupting my train of thought. Her hair that barely touched her shoulders was pulled back by a black headband. Her blue eyes were framed by thin glasses. She didn't talk to me, which I was glad, but instead continued to watch the line of students.

"Granger, Hermione!"

This next one had the girl with the bushy hair walk up and put the sorting hat upon her head. This was probably the longest one so far until the sorting hat opened the rip representing his mouth again to shout, "Gryffindor!"

"Hmm. I assumed she'd be in Ravenclaw the way she was reciting those spells earlier." I thought, remembering the room from before. The sorting continued as I looked at each of the teachers really quickly. I came to a conclusion right before another name was called.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

"He's getting into Slytherin, no doubt about it," I said to myself. The only one who noticed it was the girl who was sitting next to me, Greengrass.

"Slytherin!" The hat shouted instantly.

I knew what half the room was thinking: I knew it.

But I knew something exciting was going to happen soon, all the students were called by their last names, so the famous Harry Potter was about to get sorted soon. He was going to get into Gryffindor, everyone knew that, but it was still exciting to watch. Soon the hat called out the name everyone knew.

"Potter, Harry."

The whole room went silent with anticipation. Although the Slytherins kept whispering a little, along with a small group at the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor table. I watched until the hat roared, "Gryffindor!"

The whole Gryffindor table erupted into cheering. But I focused on the line of students while the Slytherins at my table groaned softly. Crocus had to be soon! Her last name did start with a 'T' after all.

"Reveles, Rufus!"

A boy with a mop of dark brown hair walked up the stool and put the hat on before plopping down. The hat touched his head, three seconds passed, and the hat yelled, "Gryffindor!"

"Tutella, Crocus!"

I crossed my fingers.

"Hufflepuff!"

I was relieved somewhat, I didn't have to worry about someone in Slytherin getting on my tail for being friends with a Hufflepuff. But, it would've been better is she was a Ravenclaw. "Oh well." I thought. I then waited for the red-head boy I knew was a Weasley to put the sorting hat on.

"Weasley, Ronald." Followed up by, "Gryffindor."

It was hard not to laugh, while the whole Malfoy line followed Slytherin, the whole Weasley line followed Gryffindor.

"Wren, Cyaneus!" I watched as a short youngish looking girl walked up to the stool. Unlike Malfoy's white blonde hair, this one had golden blonde hair. But something about her seemed off. She looked younger than everyone else being sorted.

"Ravenclaw!"

The hat shouted finally. I felt so worn out from all of today. I wish I had my Magical Drafts and Potions book with me to read. But unfortunately, it was in my trunk. And then food appeared in front of us. I listened to Dumbledore announce something about the Forbidden Forest. And the third floor. It didn't really interest me but I kept a note in my head just in case.

When all the food appeared in front of us, I couldn't help but feel not as hungry as I used to be. When Jacob and Flora cooked for me their food was always fresh and good. But now I didn't feel like eating.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" Daphne Greengrass asked me kindly as she scooped some salad into a golden dish that had magically appeared in front of the students.

"I don't know." I shrugged as I took a roll from a nearby pile and bite into it. It was okay. I started nibbling on it until I finished the whole roll. Davis looked at me too, "Hey, have I seen you before?"

"I don't know, is your family pureblood?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever been to one of Malfoy's parties before?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Well, then we probably have met. All of the purebloods have. The Malfoys always host huge parties and it's a pain in my neck." I muttered. The other two girls with me nodded in agreement. I took another roll and some water from the goblet. After I downed two cups and ate five rolls, the food disappeared.

I felt so sleepy, when everyone broke out into a song it disturbed me.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts."

I groaned and put my head down until everyone stopped singing. Once it was done, all the Slytherin students got up from the table and we were lead by our prefect who said her name was Gemma Farley. She indicated to the first years all the signs to get down to the dungeons. There were little snake arrows leading us down lower until we got to our room.

"Sub mari is our password. It will change every few months and is written on a chalkboard inside the common room. Do not speak of it to anyone else outside of this house." Our prefect commanded as the stone wall opened up and everyone walked inside. The room itself was a long narrow one, with two huge windows on the far side flanking a magically fueled fireplace seeing as right outside the window was the Great Lake. There were green velvet sofas, silver embroidered pillows, and house colored wallpaper. From the ceiling, orange flamed lamps were hanging from chains to light up the whole room. Everyone inside was already in the common room, doing one thing or another. Reading, playing wizard chess, or chattering about.

"The motto of Slytherin house is very simple, treat each other like family. If there is a problem with someone else in the house, you deal with it here. Don't put out a bad image for the other houses. Understand?

Girl dorms are to the left and boys are to the right. Questions can be answered by Gavin Winter or I. Have a good night." Gamma left and soon we first years made our way to our designated dorms. I stumbled inside and found my bed with my name carved into the base with my trunk underneath it. I flopped down on it and welcomed the familiar feeling of satin sheets.

"I like the Slytherin dorms, don't you?" Tracey asked as she took the bed right next to mine. I nodded sleepily. It was cozy, the oil lanterns lighting up the doors with four poster beds filling the room of the first year girls dorm. The floor was made out of a fuzzy black carpet.

"I don't know how people can misunderstand this house for being bad. I guess that's why we have to treat each other like family huh? Because it's us Slytherins against the world." Daphne muttered as she took the bed on the opposite side of mine. Two other girls were on the opposite side of the room. I really didn't care.

I was already out.

. . . . .

The next morning I woke up before all the other girls. My body clock ticks me off sometimes when I cast the 'time' spell and saw I only got 6 hours of sleep. Curse it. I moved my curtains and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. My bare feet touched the cold tile when I stood in front of the mirror. Taking out my brush, I wet it and ran it through my hair.

I groaned as I tugged harder when the brush came into contact with knots in my hair. "Arg! MONDAY YOU TROLL!" I shouted quietly as I finally got it through the knot. Sometimes I hated my thick hair. I set down my brush and picked up my other brush (tooth brush) and ran it through my teeth.

Once I was done with my teeth I looked down at the clothes I slept in. Looks like I didn't to change. I returned to my bed and dug out my potions book. I really hope I have potions today. I thought to myself. My fingers found the potion ingredients tab and I glazed over it because I had read it yesterday.

Flipping over I got up from my bed and walked outside into the common room. It was a peaceful place, the buzz of everyday life had not touched its graceful face yet. The squid floated by the window and I gave it a slight nod. Feeling silly, I sat down on a comfy chair.

I sighed and looked throughout the common room. My eyes landed on the only other occupant that sat in a chair a few seats away from mine. His sleeping face was slack, youngish compared to the other professors, his sleek feathery hair framed his face like curtains. He was obviously older. I knew right there I was looking at her Head of House.

I studied him, looking for anything to give away his teaching style. He wore a long black cloak that apparently billowed when he walked if the students had anything to say about it. It was clipped to his collar and underneath it was a dark gray shirt. Everything else he wore was black or very dark gray. His face showed nothing as he was asleep.

"Probably for potions I thought." When I noticed that it was almost all black he wore. And strangely there was a potions vial in his hands.

Sighing, I got up from the seat and made my way out from the great hall to see if anyone else was up. It must've been really early for the castle if the Potions Master himself was asleep. I walked along the stone floor, hearing my own footsteps resound around me. Eventually, I made my way up the stairs, around four corners, took a right, left, right, and thrust open the doors to the Great Hall. BANG! No one.

"I wonder where Crocus is," I grumbled aloud as I took a seat at the Slytherin table. I always had craved company first thing in the morning. I don't know where the habit came from because my parents had most of the times been away or sleeping when I got up in the mornings. It was always Flora or Jacob and me in the kitchen. And then they'd leave me for the rest of the day to do their duties too.

I sighed. Something rustled.

"Hello?" I called out.

"Yes, my dear?"

I jumped, turning my body around, and seeing the Headmaster right behind me. His blue eyes stared into my icy ones over half-moon spectacles. He was wearing white robes. But that was the only thing normal. For his bottoms, he sported black with little twinkling that went the same for his shirt.

"Hello, Headmaster. Good morning." I greeted politely. Just like I had been taught.

"Hello. I assume you are a first year. Mighty early for you to be up." He said, looking down at me.

I looked up, "I went to sleep early. Do you know what time it is?"

He looked at some weird watch with spinning planets, "Eight o'clock child. Maybe you'd like to start breakfast early? Your head of house should be up here my now. He's usually up before everyone else."

"Yeah." I murmured remembering the man who slept on the couch in the common room. I wondered what he was doing there instead of sleeping in his quarters. I shrugged as Professor Dumbledore snapped his fingers and food appeared in my vicinity. I gave him a tiny smile and he returned it with a glimmer in his eyes.

I reached over for some eggs, rice, and sausage. Another reason I didn't like eating a lot in front of kids was because of my eating habits. I often stored food in my pockets, a roll or apple here or there. And sometimes my parents would criticize what I ate. So what if I liked trying out new stuff. I picked up a gold fork and started shoveling food in my mouth.

I heard a voice and picked up my head, praying it wasn't some obnoxious Gryffies. Nope, it was a pair of teachers accompanying my head of house. One had flowing blue hair like the ocean, it went all the way down to her waist. Her eyes were aquamarine green and on the other side of her was a girl of equal height, this time with amethyst purple hair. It was pristine and straight, going down just past her shoulder blades.

They both wore a silver cloak, the same white and black pants. The one with blue hair had splotches of paint all over her and the one with purple hair was holding a book in her hands.

"Severus, I keep telling you to get your own series. My Warriors books are all falling apart!" The one with purple hair complained quite quietly. But since no one was there I could hear perfectly fine.

"Yeah, but you've got the master's edition of the first one. And your series is much more preferable to the store bought ones." The tall lanky professor said as they made their way to the staff table and continued talking.

"It's the same thing."

"So you say. But is my Potions book the same as all the others? No, it isn't." Snape shot back. The one with ocean blue hair snickered and her other two acquaintances glared at her. This just made her burst into further laughter.

"Say, Sora, what's Regulus been doing lately?" Severus asked after the girl with paint all over finished laughing her spleen out. She smiled with glee, "I think he's in Australia now helping with an investigation. Do you want to do stuff with him?"

"So what if I do?"

"I do too," the two others said at the same time, "but we have to plan it out. And he keeps complaining that he is quite busy."

They nodded and continued eating. By then I was done eating and wondered if they had noticed my presence. My eyes tilted up and I locked eyes with the purple haired one. She smirked slightly and I tensed. She flicked her eyes to the door.

I got up from my seat and walked out of the door quick enough to hear, "Novella, how's the curriculum going?"

I started walking.

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 **Author's Note:** Hello! Looks like we're in a new fandom. Not really, my crossover must count for something. Anyways, when I finished this chapter I didn't actually realize how long it was. This is seriously longer than my normal chapters are. I think it's due to my growth as a writer. Do you think?

I read someone (I think it was someone else's fanfiction) that there comes a point in your writing where you just feel the other characters. I don't know how to explain it; I don't remember which story it was. But I think that's happening now. I hope you guys are ready for a long ride.

I plan to go to book seven and I don't plan to story any time soon.

I hope everyone's having a good day!

~Aqua


	3. Chapter 3 Rufus

**Chapter Three. Rufus.**

I woke up to the sounds of chatter. My two other dorm mates I had met on the train were up and talking to each other. No, it looked like Harry waking up Ron and Ron constantly falling back asleep. I smiled briefly, "Morning guys."

"Thank Merlin someone's awake." Harry hissed as he gave up Ron and came over to sit on my bed. He plopped himself down on my sheets as I got up, my rumpled white pajamas needed changing.

"I wonder if Hedwig's coming back with mail," Harry said to me.

I looked at Harry and noticed his sad green eyes, "She'll come back. If Lily and James are the people I've heard about from my dad, they'll write. Don't worry, you're not with those muggles who treated you terribly."

Harry shifted uncomfortably on his place on my bed. Maybe I hit a bad spot? I didn't know but I reached out to pat Harry on the back. He didn't flinch like the first time I had done it, but his eyes looked uncertain. I felt bad for this child, he had never gotten a good childhood. "Unlike me." I thought offhandedly. I'm lucky to have such good parents.

"Do you want to go down to eat?" I asked Harry. Ron, at those words, shot up like a bullet, "I'm ready to eat!" I grinned like a goof. Soon all three of us were changed into our school clothes, proudly sporting the Gryffindor badge on the front.

"Let's go!" I shouted, raising my fist in the air. Ron snorted and Harry had a grin starting on his face before fading away. I gave a triumphant smile before marching out of the dorm. Apparently, we weren't the only ones awake and heading to breakfast. In fact, it seemed like everyone was going down at half past 8. Must have been on the schedule the first years haven't received yet.

Once we followed the swelling of kids to the great hall, we sat down at the Gryffindor table. I spotted Hermione trailing after us. I beaconed her over to us and she plopped herself down on the opposite side.

"Ooh, I'm so excited for class!" She said aloud while she poured herself a bowl of cereal. I chose to go with the pancakes route and scooped some of those up for me. Ron couldn't respond with words, but if his eyes were anything to go by, I could've guessed he was surprised at Hermione's enthusiasm. To be honest, I was too.

Harry smiled weakly, "My dad, James, said I'd been good in Quidditch. Everyone seems to think so."

"But you're not allowed brooms until the second year." Hermione recited.

"Yeah, but we do have flying class," I added into the conversation. Ron stilled hadn't responded; I looked up to see him shoving more food into his mouth. Around me I could hear the buzz of conversation, other tables eating and chatting nervously like us. There was even a Slytherin who was sitting at their own table with a Hufflepuff. The teachers were all smiling fondly.

"Rufus, do you think you'll be good on a broom?" Harry asked after we ate in silence for longer than expected for Gryffindors. I shrugged in response, "I honestly have no idea. My father was a beater when he was at school."

"Cool." Ron managed to interject before actually finishing what he had on his plate and leaning back with a stuffed look on his face. Hermione didn't respond to the Quidditch talk, I didn't expect her to take much interest.

Suddenly the older lady from yesterday, now I knew she was the head of our house, came around to pass out timetables. "Here are your timetables." She said briskly as she pushed small sheets of parchment at everyone. I took mine. As I was looking down, owls flew in from the sliding panels located on the ceiling. They flew everywhere and a certain white one came down to our end of the table and completely trampled the food.

"Hedwig!" Both Ron and I shouted in annoyance. The great white jerk ruffled her feathers and glared at me while it delivered a letter to Harry. He opened it and pulled out a letter. All with a smile on his face, he started reading it.

When he finished I had to ask him, "What's it say?"

"Well — mum told me to be nice, make friends, respect the teachers. And dad told me he'd be there for me if I needed any support with anything. Uncle Pa-Sirius said to start thinking about pranks while Uncle Remus wished me good luck. And they all told me to smile at Professor Snape. Weird." Harry concluded as his eyes combed the paper for anything else.

"Isn't Professor Snape head of Slytherin house?" Ron asked as his eyes looked at the Staff table. Hermione nodded her head.

"We also having him for Potions," I added.

Harry nodded his head as a small bell rang about the staff table. It was time to go to class. I got up with my friends, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and headed out with my friends. We walked around the halls until we reached the corridor that took us down the stairs to the potions classroom.

Hermione directed them into line.

After a while of waiting around and glaring at the Slytherins, the door was busted open and the students lead themselves inside. Professor Snape stood behind his desk as everyone shuffled in and partnered up, sitting in seats. Snape waved his wands and all the shutters closed and the lanterns lit up in silver flames.

"As there is little wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect many of you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through the human veins, bewitching the minds, ensnaring the senses. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death... Pay attention and you might learn something." The professor said dramatically. I squirmed in my seat next to Neville Longbottom. His black eyes landed on my and swept through the whole class before looking down and taking roll.

When he landed on "Harry Potter," his eyes looked up and met the emerald green ones that belonged to the Potters' boy. I watched Harry attempt a smile and Snape nodded his head slightly (I was pretty sure no one else saw it) before moving on. Harry sighed softly after that, glad he didn't provoke something.

Eventually, Professor Snape finished the list, "Today for your first potions class, we will be going over ingredients and how they react with each other." He pointed his wand at the chalkboard and it flipped over to reveal the ingredients they needed for today.

I looked at Neville and he stared back nervously into my dark scarlet red eyes. "Don't worry, I'll go get the ingredients. Light the fire." I instructed carefully. Getting up from my seat, I walked to the back room and looked at the ingredients on the board; we needed pumpkin seeds, some reedstone wood, some Starleaves, and lacewings.

I gathered some of them in my hands and brought them back to my table. I laid them out in front of Neville. He looked at me as Snape started walking around the classroom to make sure we all had the right ingredients. The rest of the instructions asked us to see how the ingredients interacted with each other.

"Hey Neville, do you recognize any of this stuff?" I asked when I viewed the next few steps.

Neville looked at me, "Um, um, um… The Starleaves. They're from a plant called the Mallow Star."

"Okay, we're just experimenting. So, I know from the book. Um," I picked up some of the reedstone wood and started shaving it into slivers. Neville watched me intently. I directed him to start cutting up the lacewings.

Then I started crushing the pumpkin seeds. Neville chopped up the Starleaves with the knife in the table. Once we were done the Professor came by the table just as I held the wood over the cauldron. I let a piece drop into the boiling water. Then Neville dropped in some Starleaf puss. I looked at the observations book.

"Okay, well, broomstick shavings plus Starleaf puss made the water purple?"

"No, it's more of a magenta color." Neville squeaked. I scribbled out 'purple' and replaced it with magenta. The Longbottom heir looked up at the board, "Smells, how does it smell."

I sniffed it, "Like, air?"

"So nothing?"

"Yeah."

I watched the water for a few more moments. Then I took some lacewing and added it to the concoction. It made a small rumble and a puff of smoke. Neville furrowed his eyebrows, "I don't think that's suppose to happen."

I smiled.

"Don't do it, Rufus," Neville said, worried.

I dropped the lacewing. And it got called into the palm of the Potions master. "If it puffs, then it'll explode later. I wouldn't recommend deliberately doing that."

And then a huge bang was heard on the other side of the classroom. Professor Snape turned around and muttered, "I leave for one minute."

Putting the lacewings down, I looked at Neville. He picked up the pumpkin seeds and dropped them in. It swirled, turning a shade of dark pink, and I took the stirring rod to swish it around more. Once it was done, it settled on a green grass color.

Neville took this time to write down the steps they took to get this green substance. "It's thick. And smells like seaweed."

I swirled it around for fun, "Looks done then." Neville handed over the journal and I signed my name at the top. He ripped it out of the book and I turned it in at the front of the class like the final instruction told me too. When we got back to our seats, Professor Snape dismissed the class. The Slytherins and Gryffindors flooded out of class. I was half surprised something didn't happen on our first day. "Maybe my dad was wrong." I thought warily.

"Harry!" I called out as Neville and I sped up to catch with the others. The boy with messy black hair turned around and slowed down with his two other friends to let me catch up. I grinned from ear to ear, "Guess what's next!"

"What?" Harry responded.

"Flying! I'm so excited!" I shouted and waved my hand. And then I started running to the next class. The others didn't catch up to my until we reached the doors that went outside. I pushed open the doors in excitement and the sunlight came crashing down on me. There was barely a breeze in the air, no clouds dotted the air, and I couldn't help myself. I felt like my face was going to fall off.

"Rufus, you know we don't get to try out for Quidditch until next year right?" Hermione said to me. She had obviously chosen to briskly walk instead of running to catch up, seeing as the rest of the boys were out of breath already.

"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt to practice!" I shouted with glee and fell onto the grass. Everyone else looked down to see my eyes.

"How long are you going to stay like that?" Harry asked.

"Not for very long, the class is starting." a stern voice announced behind the group of first years. It was again a class of Gryffindor/Slytherin. Madam Hooch was standing in front of the class, hands on her hips, wispy silver hair framing her face. Everyone else was standing around so I got up from the grass.

"Stand in front of your broomsticks." She waited for everyone to do so. I took my place next to Harry, across from a Slytherin girl with cold glittering eyes. "Hold out your hand, shout UP!" The professor commanded in a booming voice as she demonstrated for the class.

The next few minutes were followed by a barrage of children shouting "UP!" as loud and commanding as they could. I watched Harry get it on his first try. The boy with blonde hair a few students down got it on his first try. I decided to take my turn.

"UP!" I cried, remembering the times my father had told me how to master a broomstick. You had to be firm, yet at ease. You had to trust your broom. Although, he also said, that the school brooms weren't exactly the best sort of thing to start your first Flying lesson on.

The end of the stick flew into my hands and I smiled proudly. The girl across from me was constantly looking down at her broom. She was muttering something under her breath. I tried not to chuckled, if she thought whispering to it was going to work, she was mistaken.

Suddenly, he jumped when the broom actually jumped into the girl's thin fingers. She smiled softly as she held onto it tightly. The others were taking a while, Ron's actually coming up to smack him in the face. Hermione was having no luck. And Neville was actually pretty hopeless.

Another thing my dad told me. It was all about the person riding the broomstick. You had to have a certain capacity to be able to fly in the air, you had to be confident in yourself, your abilities. And with that, he also said you didn't gloat. You didn't show off. "He really did whip that sense of humbleness into me." I grumbled, watching Neville shouted "UP!" for the twentieth time.

But this time, he surprised me. His broomstick actually obeyed him for once and flew into his open hands. And then he surprised me again. The tip of the broom was caught in his hand but the broomstick didn't stop there. It threw itself into the air, dragging the poor boy into the air.

"Mr. Longbottom! Get on the broom and command it to go down!" Madam Hooch shouted as she pulled out her wand. Neville shrieked loudly as he tried to swing his legs over the broom. No such luck as the broom directed itself towards the building.

I couldn't watch, as he slammed into the brick wall with a loud thump. I let my eyelids open for a bit and I watched Madam Hooch rush over to a crumpled Neville on the ground with a bloody nose and a broken arm. She spoke some words to him and then, "Do not move and do not fly. Wait until I get back."

She then ushered him to the castle to get treated.

The class went into immediate silence, mostly the Slytherins mocking poor Neville the Gryffindors trying to defend him.

Suddenly, pureblood bigot, Draco Malfoy stood up tall with something round in his hands. "Neville's remembrall!"

"Give that back!" I shouted as Malfoy came swaggering over to his Slytherin goons. I glared at them, making my hands into fists. "Give it back, it's not yours!" My voice was joined with the determined one of Harry Potter's. At this, he sneered.

"And why should I?!"

"Malfoy." This time a monotone voice spoke. It came from the girl taller than us, holding the broom in her hands.

"What do you want Accinctus?!" Malfoy shouted angrily, gripping the Remembrall tighter in his hands. The icy cold eyes turned on Malfoy, "It's not yours."

"Oh — are you trying to stand up for the puny little Gryffindor?" Malfoy taunted.

The taller Slytherin took a step to stand in front of Malfoy, "No, it's just rude to take something from someone!"

Malfoy sneered and his cold eyes glittered, "Too bad." He jumped onto the broomstick and flew into the air. Before I could do the same, Harry was in the air. I watched from the ground as they exchanged a few words. Then the Remembrall left his hands. Harry raced after it.

"Harry! You don't have to catch it, I can catch it!" I shouted but my words didn't reach him. Before he could run into the wall, his hands reached out to catch. And my heart almost stopped. He moved out of the way and flew to the ground.

"Harry Potter!"

McGonagall came out with Madam Hooch with an angry expression on her face. I winced as she dragged him away.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Shout out to my first follower, TTP! I hope everyone is having a good day. Since I pre-wrote to many chapters I thought it was a good idea to update Tails from our Houses. Also, the character setting for this story is going to be constantly changing as I progress through the story. That's all for now!

~Aqua


	4. Chapter 4 Cyaneus

**Chapter Four. Cyaneus.**

The charms class had just been in let out and students flooded the hallways faster than water through a grate. The regular buzz of students meeting up with their friends became glaringly obvious. I, however, walked through the hallways to my next class without a single word. My mind was still tingling from Charms class, interesting things. Being a muggleborn meant that I had no experience with the wizarding world and their culture. It didn't mean I couldn't learn.

I hugged my textbooks closer to my chest and tried to remember where the Transfiguration classroom was. It was hard navigating the castle and I didn't even bother asking any of the Ravenclaws. Some of them seemed like snobs in her opinion. She continued to walk in the direction of the transfiguration.

I found the stairs and descended down, looping around a few corners with a small cluster of first years. My grey-green eyes scanned the halls, looking for landmarks so I could remember how to get to class. Soon, the clique of girls at the front of the crowd stopped and only one of the boys bumped into them. They traipsed into class with a reluctance I could see clearly. I was the last into class with the Hufflepuffs.

McGonagall was nowhere to be seen. But there was a suspicious cat sitting on the teacher's desk. The chatter level was rising at an uncomfortable rate seeing that the eleven-year-olds around her felt the need to yell over themselves. But I couldn't keep my gaze off the of the silver tabby. Then one of its eyes twitched, winking at me. The cat winked.

Suddenly, the noise rushed to a dead zero as McGonagall appeared out of thin air. "No," I thought, "she's an animagus!" After my initial shock, I deducted that it was only reasonable to have a master of Transfiguration able to move in and out of animal form.

"Today class," McGonagall started with her wand out and a match in front of her, "we will be turning matches into needles. Picture it in your mind, see it on your desk, and wave your wand. Will your wand to turn the match into the silver needle. Start!"

I looked down at the match, which had just appeared in from of me. Pulling out my wand, a sleek Blue Mahoe wood one. I concentrated on my match and an excited jittered raced up my spine. Being admitted into Hogwarts at age 10 was exhilarating; I had always excelled in my academics in and out of school. "Although," I thought offhandedly, "I never made any friends. I wonder if it was because I was a witch."

That gave me some food for thought as I lazily swished my wand. The image that popped in my mind appeared on the desk and I smirked. Still got it. "Congratulations Ms. Wren, five points to Ravenclaw."

The local Ravenclaw clique gave me a nasty scowl. I ignored them. I was used to it. The girls in primary school were constantly jealous of my natural academic. "Stop this. You're only where you are because you study. You try hard and persevere. It's not natural. Not by anyone's standards." I growled to myself mentally. The thought might've shown on my face as the girls turned around instead.

I slowed my breathing and waved my wand. Nothing. Sighing, I cleared my mind, pictured a slow calm drizzle of water from a random source. It always helped me when my mind was buzzing and I could barely focus. Slowly I whirled my wand in the transfiguration motion, it turned back into a match. My mind was still slightly blown by all the magic around me.

Since I actually finished first, I peeked at Transfiguration text and let the surrounding sounds fade away. I found I actually quite enjoyed picturing something in my head and having it take the place of whatever he had. I glazed over the transfiguration theory. The first time I read it I had no idea what I was reading. Now that I read it and tried it out in class it made slightly more sense to me. The theory was quite long and I finished it by the time class was over. Only a few others had managed to tweak their match.

I was the first out of the class, trying to avoid the girls in the group. I knew I was smart, but I also knew how to survive at school. We had to go to lunch afterward so I headed straight to the Great Hall. McGonagall must've let class out early since there weren't any kids from the Transfiguration class to the Great Hall. It was only when I pushed open the doors did I hear the familiar thrum of students' feet against the stone.

I made my way to the end of the Ravenclaw table, the scent of newly cooked food enchanted my senses. My mouth watered and I filled my plate with a few sandwiches. A golden goblet filled itself with lemonade as I grabbed it from the center. I already had a sandwich in my mouth by the time the Great Hall was filled with students. No one spoke to me and I liked it; I let my thoughts wander.

"Potions with the Hufflepuffs next." I recited to myself.

I took another sandwich, my fourth, and started taking small bites. I pulled out my potions text and propped it open in front of me. Nibbling away the pulled pork sandwich bit by bit my eyes scanned the pages briefly. I hummed softly, potions was quite interesting in theory. But I doubted if I could actually make potions. Sounded too much like cooking for my taste — and I happened to be very bad at it.

Finishing my lunch, I waited for the bell to ring for next class. Potions. I awaited the bell and was awarded with its light ring ring ring. Students got up reluctantly. Heading to my next class quietly, I got into line with a few early bird Ravenclaws. The next two hours in the potions classroom went by surprisingly quickly. Professor Snape's speech didn't really faze me and it was hard trying to concentrate on the instructions. I barely knew what I was doing with my hands. And listening to the instructions step by step made me feel uncomfortable; similar to if someone was instructing me to jump off a cliff and I followed their word exactly down to the way they told me to fall.

Soon class ended. I walked out silently. We had a free period before dinner time. I decided to spend it in the library, maybe I could find something interesting. I barely noticed as many of the Ravenclaws made their way to the tower, intent on catching up on some sleep or talking with others.

I recognized the statues along the walls that lead me to the library. Soon I reached the doors and pushed them open. Silently, I gazed around towers of shelves with knowledge unknown. Everything here was fresh, untouched by her hands alone. And she had only an hour to start reading.

Soon, I found several interesting books on Transfiguration and settled down on a table. One of the ones that especially peaked my interest was the one about animagus transformations, whatever McGonagall performed in class. Turning into an animal seemed interesting enough, and although I knew too well that it was way out of my league, the theory was fascinating.

"Hello, do you mind if I sit here?"

I looked up, letting my grey-green eyes land on a girl slightly taller than myself. She had golden brown eyes and wore Hufflepuff robes. She clutched a potions book in her hand. I nodded and continued to read my book. She pulled out a chair with a soft squeak and opened her potions book. I knew for a fact that the other two houses were still in class, having their earlier that day.

"I wonder why she couldn't have sat anywhere else." I thought. I then felt guilty about said thought. It was rude especially since she couldn't defend herself against my internal question. I hoped she didn't see the question show on my face. Distraction!

"So, you're a Hufflepuff?"

Stupid, no duh! Of course, she's a Hufflepuff! Look at her robes.

"Uh, yeah." The other student responded, her eyes never leaving the page. I took a deep breath and shut my transfiguration book. "I'm Cyaneus Wren."

The girl with the honey colored eyes looked up from her book and smiled, "Crocus Tutella. Nice to meet you."

"Same to you. Say, you're interested in Potions correct?"

"Yeah, why?"

I looked around wearily, like ghosts were somehow listening in on this conversation, trying to catch a snippet of something both personally offensive to myself and humiliating. But I knew if I even wanted to make an O in Potions by the fifth year, I was going to need help from a natural. "Could you help me understand the subject a little bit more than I already do?"

The rest of that evening was spent talking about potions and their properties. Ingredients seemed to be the tough part, as they are essentially the core of every potion ever. And if you didn't know what went into the potion, how could you possibly know what came out? Crocus spent her time talking mostly about the ingredients they were going to be using in the first year. It was great and all, but my mind was itching to ask her about the second year too. And to be honest, I remember wondering if it was sane to ask about the third year too.

Eventually, Crocus looked at a pocket watch. To their own amused surprise, they were five minutes late to dinner. Crocus offered to clean up the desk while I went to go check out the library books. When she was done I had just gotten the books stamped. Without a word, we burst out of the library doors and booked it downstairs.

We didn't arrive too late. When we got inside the Great Hall, no one noticed our little time slip. Except for possibly one Slytherin, who walked over to the duo. "I was waiting for you!" The tall girl said in a hushed voice. Her long black hair and icy blue eyes reflected a cold person underneath. To be honest, I had no idea why they were talking to each other. One had the warmest golden eyes you could see, with a demeanor she carried that shouted 'free hugs!'

On the other hand, you had this tall girl. Her black hair fell down to her waist with a few waves. The way she carried herself told anyone not to mess with her and her eyes. I shivered. They were like a stark frozen winter. She turned to look at me. Shoot.

"Who's this?"

I know the girl tried to hide it under a blank facade of some sort, but I could catch the tingle of suspicion. "Oh crap," I shouted to myself. In my head obviously. "These two are friends. And, she's a Slytherin. Shit shit shit! She sees me as a threat! Bloody hell!"

Something like this was always bound to happen. It had happened twice to me in primary school. After that, well, I tended to stay away from kids I knew had friends. Usually, when I befriended someone, they'd introduce me to their other friend. Other friend gets jealous. Threatens me. Back to square one. Usually, it's suspicion or betrayal first. Betrayal was the worst. That meant I could be fracturing a friendship.

"Oh, this is Cyaneus. She asked me to help her in Potions."

"Damn it," I thought vigorously, "didn't she see anything wrong?!"

"Potions?"

I didn't hear anything this time. Completely blank. I couldn't tell if my facial expressions were showing anything mildly related to what was going inside my head.

"I can help."

"Okay, let's go sit at the Hufflepuff table before we attract too much attention." Crocus said eagerly. I felt like the world had turned its back on me and just tried to make it up. She was offering to HELP?! Why? Of all things! Just a moment ago I swore she spoke with some type of suspicion. What is going on?

Crocus lead us to the Hufflepuff table, coincidentally at the end so no one would bother their conversation. "So, if you're looking for two Potions partners, I believe you've found them." The black haired girl said, almost — SMILING?! What is going ON! Was there something I was missing here. Was this some kind of prank? She obviously sounded proficient in the subject, they both did. And it would break me to turn down help from TWO students. But bells were going off. "I hate deal with people!" I yelled at myself.

"Cyaneus?"

I jumped slightly and my thoughts traveled several light years back to reality. "Yeah?"

"We can help. We just need to coordinate a place and time." Crocus said. The Slytherin nodded her head and her eyes shone. Definitely, an enthusiast learner of potions, if one change of emotions could say anything about it. "I've actually looked into the subject. Almost to the end of the third year actually."

Crocus chuckled lightly and the girl with ice spheres for eyes blushed, adding a dusting of pink to her slightly pale skin.

"Uh, yeah. I'd like the help."

People were so weird. That was my conclusion. I could accept help, but I still can't get over why she would even bother — Oh.

Right then it hit me. There were such things as trios. But then, why would they want to become my friend? I'm a year younger than them and of course, my study habits are unnatural. Why would someone want to be relatively close to someone who would rather stick her nose in a book?

The other two started eating. I dismissed all this complex emotion stuff and decided to think about it later. After all, there was food in front of me. And I was starving.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope everyone's having a good day! Here's chapter four of Tails from our Houses hitting you hard. With three uploads in a row, I think it's okay to say that the next upload on either Slytherin's Trio or Tails from our Houses won't be for a while. But don't worry, I know how hard it is to wait. I just wish you to understand how hard it is to keep up chapters with school in the background.

Anyways, we had our first reviewer! SB- Potterhead Budgie Lover! Thank you so much for taking the time to click that review button. It's also equally appreciated by me, that you 1. TTP, followed my story. It's nice to know that it's not getting downed in the sea of Harry Potter fictions out there. I'll try not to take so long to update next time. I hope everyone's doing well.

~Aqua


	5. Chapter 5 The Letter

**Chapter 5. The Letter.**

The first few weeks went along quite well actually. I hadn't expected much, reading books and watching movies that spread the rumor of terrible muggle junior high did that to you. Even though I was eleven, and technically still in fifth grade, I still expected something to go wrong. Nothing. Yet. Viridus got along quite well with Cyaneus. I guess they found a great study partner in each other. Together, we were quite formidable.

Viridus was there to support them strongly in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I usually helped everyone along the lines of Charms, a small area of Transfiguration, and a little Herbology. But Cyaneus, she was great! Transfiguration, Astronomy, and History of Magic. The last two considered the more boring of the subjects at Hogwarts.

So just when I was lulled into a feeling of security, something was bound to happen. It was nothing big really, Harry Potter just received a very expensive broom from NOWHERE. And because of his fame, everyone just snapped their heads towards Potter.

I felt like the only one at the Ravenclaw table not burying my eyes into the back of Potter's head. Cyaneus being the only other one too. To my great amusement actually, Viridus was gazing the hardest. Actually, she was glaring. Yeah, her eyes were glaringly jealous.

"A Nimbus. A Nimbus Two Thousand! H-how — I can't believe it! HE'S A BLOODY SEEKER ON THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM?!"

"Apparently the rumors are true," Cyaneus spoke slowly, clapping her book shut. "Harry Potter, a first year, is a Seeker." Everyone knew this wasn't a daily occurrence. It was only second years and older that got to try out for the House Quidditch team. I chuckled at Viridus' murderous expression.

"Is she a competitive Quidditch player?" Cyaneus asked a tad of confusion spilled onto her face. Viridus chose to take this moment to whirl around and face them. "Yes! I am the best Quidditch player out of my five other siblings! I will humiliate Diana when she comes to Hogwarts! You wait." At the end of her little rant, everyone turned back to their food, seeing as the entertainment was over.

"You can try out next year right?" I asked Viridus. She nodded with fire in her eyes. I did what was only safe and continued eating my breakfast. Viridus and Cyaneus seemed to have lost their own appetite and appeared content to just watch me scarf down food. "Whaff?" I looked at them wide eyed. Viridus guffed as a piece of bread fell out of my mouth. Swallowing, I shot a glance at my pocket watch.

"I have Charms next with the Slytherins." I said.

"History with the Gryffindors." Cyaneus groaned.

"Good luck mate." I grinned, Cyaneus gave me a 'those Gryffs don't know the definition of interesting' look and started getting up out of her seat. "I better leave now so I'm not late. See you guys at lunch."

I shoved my book back into my pack and swung it onto my shoulders. Viridus did the same and we walked out of the Great Hall together. As we walked to Charms we heard some voices in the hallway. "Malfoy." I groaned to Viridus. She growled like a dog protects territory. When she was rounding the corner, it was indeed Malfoy, his two cronies, and the Golden Trio of Gryffindor.

"Such a privileged Potter, you must know for sure that first years aren't allowed on the Quidditch teams right?" Malfoy taunted. Ron had already gone red in the ears. I could see his fists trembling with strain.

"Malfoy, stop harassing the Gryffs."

"I see, it's Accinctus. Aren't you a ball of positivity? For the best Quidditch player out of the bunch, I don't see why you don't have a Nimbus. Maybe your parents don't care that much?" Malfoy said scathingly, a vengeful fire lit in his eyes. I looked over and almost jumped. Viridus went stock still and her eyes had that glare of a frozen Great Lake.

"Or maybe they don't pay Jacob enough to buy—"

Viridus rushed forward and stood in front of Malfoy, towering him by five inches. In a completely cold voice, she uttered, "I could crush you in Quidditch Malfoy. Next year, you will see." No one had time to react or even ask why Malfoy of all people knew Viridus' parents. Professor Flitwick took this moment to appear in front of the group.

"Make your way to class." he instructed politely.

"Professor," Malfoy sneered down at the half-goblin, "first years aren't allowed a broom."

"Ah, that is right Mr. Malfoy," The head of Ravenclaw house glanced at Harry, "I'm afraid this is an exception. Now move along, we don't want to late now do we?"

Malfoy shot the Boy-Who-Lived a nasty scowled and slunk out from the circle and made his way down the hallway. Viridus, seeing that the problem was taken care of, nodded to the Professor and started down the hallway. I looked back at the group of Gryffs. Their faces showed confusion. Tearing my gaze away, I scampered off to catch up with Viridus.

"I have a feeling Malfoy's going to be a pain in the butt for the rest of the year," I said out of breath.

Viridus shook her head, "It's not a feeling, it's a confirmation."

While we walked down to the Ravenclaw tower, I remembered something. The commotion of Harry Potter's new broomstick had distracted her for a while. Viridus had gotten a letter from a swift barn owl; Jacob's she had said. "What did the letter say again?"

"Oh, I almost forgot about that."

Viridus swung her bag in front of her, still going at a full walk, and stuck her hands inside. I heard the shuffling of quills and books before she pulled out a slightly crumpled envelope. "Darn, it got bent." The Slytherin stopped momentarily to flatten it against the wall.

After getting out major creases, she opened the letter again. "It was a warning, I think," Viridus muttered. "Dear Viridus," Listening carefully, I nodded my head.

"I don't know if you've heard, but there's been an attack on the Ministry. It happened quite a while ago but Flora and I didn't know how to break it to you. Gringotts is the most protected bank in the whole wizarding world. And if someone got past their defenses, it must mean someone was that desperate to steal whatever was inside."

I looked up to meet Viridus' glance. This was not good. Especially since Gringotts was famous for its defenses. I wondered if the globins were in an uproar.

"But try not to dwell on it too much," I looked over Viridus' shoulders to see that the first paragraph was written differently than the second one. "We've talked to…"

Viridus seemed to be trying to read the next word on the page. I looked at the crease that rolled over the word. It should've been easy enough to read. Except the ink was smudged. "Darn it, Flora. She's not used to writing with a quill."

I nodded understandingly. Viridus just skipped over — whatever it was, "He voiced his concerns to us, and even though we are not supposed to share it with you, we'd advise you to stay away from the third floor like Dumbledoor said."

I tried not to grin at the way Flora spelled Dumbledore's name.

"We can't wait to see you back home Viridus. Write back and tell us if you want to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas break. We won't mind if you do. Sincerely, Jacob and Flora."

"This is the second time." I murmured. Viridus started walked again and I had to run to catch up to her. Her face was troubled when we walked up a flight of stairs and reached the Charms classroom.

"Something's up," I repeated.

Viridus muttered darkly under her breath, which answered my question. She knew. We waited outside the classroom as I watched Viridus reread the letter over again. "What could it be?" I was slightly shocked she was asking me, I honestly had no idea. And usually, she was good at dissecting evidence.

"To be honest, I have no idea." I shared my thought with Viridus. She didn't show any form of confirmation that she heard me. I knew she did, though. I heard the steady drum slowly take over the hallways and I knew right away that students just got out of breakfast. "We can look into this later."

Soon the door was opened by the Charm professor and everyone filed into class. He instructed everyone to pair up into partners. "Today we will be practicing the spell known as Alohomora. Each table has been given a lock and your job is to wave your wand in a backward 'S' like so." Professor Flitwick demonstrated the wand movement with his own and soon the class was left to their own accords.

Viridus and I both waved our wands in the exact same motion as the Charm Professor. Once I was confident I had it down, I performed the spell, "Alohomora."

Twirling my wand barely did anything. I had gotten the Lumos charm on the first try. I put on my determined face and waved it a few more times, correcting myself; there were one too many loops for the spell to be effective. Once I had the backward 'S' down, I tried again. Imagining the magic pouring out of my wand, I said the incantation firmly. I heard something scratch and the lock jerk a bit. I reached out to pull on the hook.

Still locked.

"Viridus," I looked at her, exasperated. She was still waving her wand in a smooth backward 'S.' Her lips were moving to form the words Alohomora, but actual sound wasn't coming out. I looked at her with a question on my tongue. "Viridus, we're too young to be trying wordless magic."

She barely said a word, this time trying to make the words formed on her lips turn into a spell. I furrowed my brow at this. What was she trying to do? What was going on in her head? Sometimes I wish I was a mind reader. Or just brave enough to ask what she was thinking about. Her face was contorting in a mask of frustration.

"Alohamora."

It was barely a breath, a whisper, yet I caught the near silent word. Her thin wrists flicked the wand in the air and the lock clicked, unlocking. She let out a breath and looked at me. I gave her a confused look and she just stared back at me with a blank expression. Wondering what that was about, I raised my hand to notify the professor about the lock. Another group of Slytherins, Daphne, and Tracey I presumed had finished already.

He nodded to us, summoned the lock to his desk, and continued to watch the other groups. Seeing that we had a few more minutes before Professor Flitwick was done and he gave the rest of the groups a hint, I opened my charms book. It didn't help however, my mind still strayed to the ominous letter. I actually debated in my head whether or not to ask Viridus if I could reread the letter. Another subject that nagged the back of my brain was the Third-floor corridor. So spooky, yet, no one had no idea what the school was guarding.

I barely listened to Flitwick give his speech on how to make your magic flow correctly. He also stated the reason it's very important for young wizards and witches to stay the incantation. I thought he met Viridus' eyes through the middle of it. She was silent the whole time. Did her mind not wander? I had no clue. She had to elbow me in the side so we could get up and leave the class.

I had flying class next. With the Ravenclaws.

"See you in Potions."

I only got a tip of the head from my friend before she headed off in the other direction. I aimlessly walked down flights of stairs, letting my body go into autopilot mode. The third-floor corridor… Wasn't that to the left and down a few steps?

I stopped in the middle of the hallway. No students were around since I had apparently taken the long way to the doors leading into the courtyard. I blamed the moving staircase. But as I looked down the left hall, I swore I could hear something growling. Something rumbling these walls. Shaking my head vigorously, I knew it had to be something dangerous.

Obviously chickening out, I turned my back and ran down the steps. My aimless wandering might make me late for class! Soon the torches got slightly dimmer as windows let in more light. I heard the pitter patter of my shoes like my ears were full of water and my head was five feet below sea level. Mystery novels always had the same effect on me.

Soon, I saw the doors and pushed them open. I had pushed my hands on them a bit too much and they burst open on the other side, startling several students standing right there. Panting slightly harder than I should have, I looked up. Madam Hooch was standing there waiting to start class.

"Darn, I was late after all."

It was much to my chagrin to have been left with the most beaten up broom at Hogwarts. Flying was actually enjoyable. With the right kind of broom. On this one, the wood was so splintered that unless you had gloves, you got pricked, and I didn't have gloves. Not bothering to ask the professor for a different broom, I got on reluctantly. I felt the battered wood pierce my cloak and stab my skin. Shifting uneasily, I rose into the air when Madam Hooch asked up to.

Floating over to Cyaneus, I listened to the instructions, determining not to slip up again. We lapped around the school a few times which felt easy enough for me. Cyaneus however, seemed to be having a difficult time. She was muttering under her breath and the one time I caught her words, it sounded like she was reciting the theory on why brooms few. Confused, I had sped ahead and landed the five laps. Of course, about half the class finished before me, but the broom just wouldn't keep up.

"Man," I thought dryly, "I wonder how a Nimbus feels compared to this junk."

Sighing quite loudly, the class was dismissed for those who had landed. I waited for Cyaneus to finish. She was the last one down. When she landed, she thanked me for waiting for her. I muttered something along the lines of "you're welcome." My mind was already back on the letter. The third-floor corridor. And, as soon as my stomach rumbled, lunch.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Hello, this is Aqua! The author is this (sarcastically) _beautiful_ fanfiction! I figured at this point in time, you would want a check in with the author? No? Well, you _are_ allowed to skip this part of the story. Anyways, how is it? I really hope you like it. Since it's my first pure Harry Potter story, I'd like to know what you readers think about the stories. Dropping a review would be useful.

But, this is the kind of story that doesn't depend on those. But it's a nice way of showing you're here. Any if I know you are, well, extra modivation you know? The middle or spring is always for the worst. For multiple reasons. *winks like Sans* I've got a whole speal of things planned for the long run. I hope you're having as much fun as I am!

I'll be seeing you all around! Have a great night!

~Aqua


	6. Chapter 6 That Witch

**Chapter Six. That Witch.**

I slipped into the Great Hall, choosing to take a shorter route to the Great Hall. I needed time to think about the letter. And that darn third floor. And something that greatly concerned her was her approach to this problem. In the past mystery games my oldest sister played with me, I always calculated myself and no one else. That's why I took the moment to slump down one of the walls in the hidden corridor and _thought_.

I usually counted on myself. For my whole life, I had calmly calculated through situations with my own sharp mind honed with my sister and the help of Jacob and Flora. But they didn't always have time for my games; so I read. Mystery novels were my favorite. But in almost every novel I had read, it had always been a group. And always in that group, someone dragged them down. Or betrayed them. Or just overall tripped up everyone. So I had taken a liking to working alone.

This, however, was a whole mess in itself. First of all, I let my walls down long enough to make a friend.

"Is she even my friend? Does she think I'm her friend?" I murmured. It was the dreaded question I had this whole time and I couldn't figure it out. I figured she would just stick around until she found some read friends. Maybe the Ravenclaw? I shook my head. Whatever I had to do had to be done alone. I couldn't tug the weight of incompetence.

But, if I were to work alone, what was the plan? There was no way I could get out of bed past the 9 o'clock curfew. And straight up going to the third corridor would probably raise some suspicion. And plus, someone had to be watching the hallway. Right? I had my doubts, but then again, this was a prestigious school.

Putting my concerns about the incompetence of the schooling system, I returned to the letter that was sitting like a ticking time bomb in my bag. It wasn't fake, that's for sure. I thought about the handwriting for a long time and recognised it as Jacob's and Flora's own. And of course, Flora was foreign. Her handwriting was scratchy. No one could fake that.

I actually considered skipping lunch. I felt my pockets and the crumbs reminded me I had eaten the last piece of french break in History. Chuckling at my own pun, I got up. Brushing the dust from my robes, I walked out from behind a statue and walked down the hallway. My mind still felt clumped from the long drone of a speech Professor Binns delivered. I honestly had no idea who was worse to listen to, Binns or Quirrel. Which reminded me; I had Defense Against the Dark Arts after lunch. Joy.

It was just so hard listening to him studder all the time. "Oh, I'm just so slow and incompetent that I had to stumble over my words." I scoffed mockingly. He basically took tripping over air to a new level. Huffing, I pushed opened the doors to the Great Hall. To my surprise, I found Crocus sitting alone at the Hufflepuff table. Cyaneus was nowhere to be see. So I decided today was a day to think. I plopped myself down on the Slytherin end of the table and stole some rice that looked appealing.

"Hey, Accinctus."

I couldn't sigh with rice in my mouth so I just rolled my eyes slightly before meeting them with Tracey Davis' round glowing orbs. She was sitting next to Daphne who was sitting tea with delicate hands. Suddenly, something struck me.

A question.

I could ask a question, wrapped in riddles obviously, to see if anyone knew about anything. Could be useful.

I swallowed what I had in my mouth. "Hello, Davis. How was your side of the history classroom?"

The pureblood shrugged, "Alright I guess. If you count getting hit with several flying quills as alright."

"Darn," I said, thinking to the time a kid stabbed me with a quill. "Anyhow, I'm looking for something I've lost. It's something I've kept for a long time but never gets old. And every time I tell someone about it, I loose it all over again."

Davis gave me this odd look. One of confusion and slight innocence. Nope, she knew nothing. I should've known. If anyone knew about or everything about the happenings around Slytherin it was prince Draco Malfoy himself. But I detested the thought of ever asking for his help. Maybe I would ask another house.

"Maybe you have a theft." Daphne's soft voice wandered into our conversation. I looked into her placid eyes. She showed me nothing that said she was aware of what I was looking for. But by her cold mask, I could tell she had practiced a long time with keeping straight face. Longer then I have.

Shrugging with a little more jealously than necessary, I looked down at my food. And decided to at some breaded chicken to the mix. Spread some sauce, I stuck it in my mouth, ignoring the stare I got for Tracey. Man, this girl had no idea how to be discrete. As soon as I finished I got up. "I'll meet you guys in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom."

I picked up three apples and stuck two in my pockets and one in my bag. When I approached the doors to leave I felt a hand on my shoulder. I felt my shoulders spike out of habit. Turning around, I meet the honey colored eyes of Crocus' face. Calming slightly I opened the doors for her and lead us out.

Twisting my hand nervously, I realized I didn't know what to do with Crocus. On one hand, I learned she wasn't a complete imbecile and had a sense of logic in her when she needed it the most. But she wasn't anywhere near Ravenclaw logic or Slytherin cleverness. "Where are we going?"

I caught the slip of 'we.'

"I was going to go to the DADA classroom a bit early."

"Okay."

I couldn't believe how fast she took it. What if I was lying? What if I was untrusting of her, like most Slytherins should be, and wanted to just misguide her? What if —

"I'll be in the library. Maybe we could find what everyone's trying to hide Or at least what's guarding it? I really don't want anyone getting their hands on something that the teachers are trying so hard to stow away." Crocus said, voicing her concerns as far as I knew

She trusts me. Why? Why did she trust me? There were so many reasons why she shouldn't. Both in history and in logic. Sure Hufflepuff's were loyal, but blindly so?

"Do I trust you?"

I didn't say it out loud as Crocus trotted away like a little tiny dog. Her bag swayed at her side and her brownish hair swished to and fro. Did I trust her? Trust her to have my back, trust her to not tell, trust her to keep what I was 'looking for' back at the Slytherin table? And most of all, did I trust her to put up with me?

"Do I even trust myself?"

I hissed this outloud when Crocus turned around the corner. It was barely a whisper. And I didn't even notice the words had escaped my lips until I heard it only one, echo back to me. Maybe it was my brain or it did really bounce off the stone like a Muggle cartoon.

I walked to the DADA classroom neck deep in thought.

I reached the classroom door and let myself in. My thoughts strayed to the teachers; I wondered if they knew anything about the stone. Or was the headmaster keeping it all to himself. He couldn't possibly do that. He was the famous leader of the light, he wouldn't needlessly endanger thousands of students.

I shook my head a got a seat towards the back of the classroom. I set down my bag, pulled out a book, quill, and my wand. I played around with them for a while to make my side of the desk perfectly symmetrical before I decided that I should start listening for students trampling over each other to reach class. Although, I noticed many didn't feel like paying attention in some of them. What was the point of trying to get to class on time if you didn't feel like going?

Yawning slightly, I watched Slytherins and Gryffindors alike trail into the classroom. Malfoy chose to sit right up front with Crabbe at the same desk as him. Goyle was stuck sitting next to Parkinson. Daphne and Tracey sat next to each other. And some other Slytherins paired up. Blaise Zabini sat with Theodore Nott. Millicent Bulstrode gave my lonely table at the back a glance, obviously not wanting to sit with a Gryffindor, but I solved that problem by giving her a nice health stare down. She then went to go sit down next to a witch named Anna Runcorn. I was totally fine if I sat by mysel-

I didn't get to finish that statement.

"H-hello. Is this spot taken?" I looked up to a see a girl with smooth brown hair that cut shortly before her shoulders in a neat arc. She wore thin black framed glasses that perched on a petite nose and her round chocolate eyes gazed back at my icy blue ones. She was dressed in a black robe with the Gryffindor crest on it. So maybe I wouldn't be left alone. Oh well, it's better then Malfoy any day.

She shifted on her feet. "Sure, sit here."

She sat down hesitantly. Judging by her confliction and tendency to stay on the other side of the table, I knew she was afraid of me. "Slytherin's reputation has yet to surprise me." I thought to myself. Yet, she had gotten up to ask me. Probably because she didn't have a partner. Glancing around, all the other desks were full. Figures.

Quirrel started class.

"T-t-oday, w-we will b-be l-learning a-a-a-bout t-t-t-t-," I could see him visibly gulp, "trolls."

I was surprised her could even get out what they were teaching without stuttering. Although, that was only because he restarted his sentence. I rubbed my thumb on the quill tip, careful not to get leftover ink on my skin. Trolls. Definitely something someone would teach in a defense against the dark arts class. But why? It didn't really cover it much in the book.

"M-m-miss A-a-a-" Professor Quirrel started.

"Accinctus." I muttered tired. I was really starting to wear down, and it was only halfway through the day. If I kept going on like this then I was going to fall asleep during Astronomy tonight. I thought about asking Madam Pomfrey for a note to pass. "It's my fault for staying up so late last night though." I thought briefly before being dragged back to reality.

"Y-y-yes. A-a-a-a-re y-you l-listening?"

Malfoy shot me a sneer. I struggled not to roll my eyes. Especially when half the class had their eyes on me. "Yes Professor."

"W-w-hat i-is it t-t-that t-trolls a-a-a-are i-i-i-i-impervious to?"

It was so hard to string his whole sentence together in my head to something I understood since it took him almost five whole minutes to pronounce out impervious. And the question he asked was so obvious. "Magic Professor, they're not harmed much by our wands."

"C-c-c-correct. T-wo p-points to S-s-slytherin."

I sighed softly and the Gryffindor next to me gave me an incredulous look, which I ignored. I continued to play with my quill and let the word slide into strings that flew over my head. Trolls. They were huge, ugly, had a knack for magic-immune skin, and extremely dumb. I felt two taps on my shoulder and I looked over.

"Um, we're supposed to be taking n-notes."

I pulled open my book and flipped to a page I scribbled on Trolls. Apparently I already took them. How odd. Oh wait, there was a crude troll scratched out in ink. It was appeared to be one of Crocus' little things. And I think Cyaneus wrote the notes? Said something about mine being to messy? Or hard to read? I forgot.

"Y-you already took notes?"

"Yeah, something like that," I muttered.

"Um… D-do you…" She trailed off. I almost snapped at her and told her to spit it out. She was a darn Gryffindor for a reason. "Yes?"

"Could you help me?" She almost shouted. Some other kids looked over and ignored us. I shrugged. "I don't have much down."

"Well, it's most more than the curriculum has," She slide to book over to her side and scanned my notes. "These are much more than what the curriculum contains."

"What a Ravenclaw…" I thought. I didn't realize I said it out loud until the Gryffindor was giving me a 'what, I didn't hear you' look. I shook my head in a dismissive gesture. She went back to inking out the notes on trolls.

"Do you, by any chance, know where they live?"

Hmm… "I'm going to guess, dark caves. Swamps."

The Gryff wrote this down. So I decided to throw something else in there. "Third-floor corridors, maybe?" I watched her shoulders tense and then release. And then tense again. Acting like I didn't see anything I added on, "It was just a joke."

"Oh."

The last part must've come out flatter than I thought.

The rest of class was slow going. When the Gryffindor was done for the time being, I took my book back in clapped it shut. Professor Quirrell dismissed the class. I walked out as fast as my dead feet would carry me. I than realized I had to walk down stairs to get to my dorm.

"Hmm, library or stairs?"

"Well, the library's up the stairs Accinctus." I heard the melodic voice of Daphne. Sighing profoundly, I turned around to see Tracey and her constant companion. "I just need a nap."

"We all do," Tracey complained, rubbing her eyes.

"Let's go. I'll carry both of you if I have to." Daphne drawled.

I leaned against Greengrass, "Thanks."

"I didn't mean literally!"

I grinned. Tracey came over and leaned on the middle girl, her twin brown pony tails getting tangled with Daphne's blonde. She gave a mock huff before I got off and we started our tread down to the Slytherin common rooms.

. . . . .

It was dinner time when Daphne and Tracey woke me up by sitting on my back. It was uncomfortable to have to flail my way off the bed, but eventually, I jerked them off and landed on top of the two girls. Somehow Tracey had grabbed a pillow and started smacking the two of us. We were late for dinner.

When we got to the Great Hall, I beckoned to Crocus and Cyaneus so they could sit at the Slytherin table with us. Choosing our seats far away from Malfoy, we ended up sitting with a small girl named Lily Moon.

"Hi." Crocus chirped happily, sitting down on the other side with Lily Moon. Cyaneus slid in next to her, a book opened in one hand. I looked at the golden plate in front of me. I was mostly reluctant to eat something. They were serving fish and chips for dinner.

Everyone else around me was grabbing food; everyone except Crocus, which stood out to me. She was shifting in her seat uncomfortably, her eyes flying from one point to another around the great hall like she was conscious someone was watching her and judging her. I quirked an eyebrow. Daphne chuckled and Cyaneus looked up, perhaps noticing the Slytherins for the first time.

"What's funny?" I asked her.

Daphne stopped herself from chuckling, "I don't know, why don't you tell me? Usually, other houses don't just sit at the Slytherin table."

"Where'd you hear that?" Tracey asked, swallowing her food before speaking. Daphne shrugged, "Just something that's just known at school."

"Viridus!"

"Finally," I said, tinging my voice with a tease. She looked at me surprised. "Yes, I can read your mind."

"She's just playing around," Tracey said again.

"Um, I don't want to mention it, here, but um."

"It's alright, just spit it out. The Slytherin's judge you already."

Crocus looked alarmed but continued anyway, "About the third-floor corridor."

Realization dawned on my face and I looked at everyone around us. It was just Lily, Tracey, and Daphne of the Slytherins who was listening. All the rest felt content to leave us alone. I nodded, "Yeah, I've been thinking about that."

"I think, that's Dumbledore's trying to protect something."

"The third-floor? Isn't that the one that the headmaster said was off limits?" Lily said quietly. Everyone shook their heads in agreement. I had a thought and dug my hands into my bag, searching for a familiar piece of paper. She felt the crumpled up sheet and pulled it out. Flattening it against the edge of the table, I laid it out for everyone to read.

"Something's up for Jacob and Flora to be saying something about it," I muttered, suspicious of the third floor. What was the headmaster hiding from the rest of the school? Everyone went quiet for an extended period of time, taking the moment to read and reread the letter. It was, weird to say the least.

"That's odd. I didn't think your family would send letters." Tracey commented. I looked at the pureblood and remembered the time my mother and father actually attended one of the parties instead of Jacob and Flora.

"Yeah, Raimei and Denko have not received letters. Neither has Freya."

"Those are all unusual names." Crocus commented while tapping her chin. "Raimei and Denko are Japanese for Thunder and Lightning respectively. And Freya is a Goddess in Norse Mythology."

"Yeah, my parents travel everywhere. So their children end up with diversified names. My name's Latin and Diana's named after a Roman goddess."

"Okay, back to the third floor. What could be up there?" Tracey redirected the group back to the topic at hand. The group thought about it for a while before Lily spoke up. "I heard a rumor from Gryffindor house, that the break in on the 31st has to do with the third floor."

"Hm… Yeah, it probably is, but what could it be? And they probably have something guarding it right? What could be guarding it?" Crocus spoke.

Cyaneus chose this time to interrupt, "Why do we need to look for it?"

Everyone turned to her, and I could see her pale a little bit. "I mean, if the teacher's can handle it, they can. Why do we need to interfere? We could make it worse." Cyaneus posed a valid point, but I knew why. It was just my curiosity. I took a deep breath.

"You can never be too safe. For all we know, someone could be trying to steal it." I tightened my lips. And I was always taught to protect myself, no matter where. Act independently. And figure out mysteries. Well, maybe this time I wouldn't be able to act independently. But everyone seemed smart enough to me.

Suddenly, the bell rung. Shoot, we had Astronomy later. Taking a few rolls in my hands, I stuffed them in my pocket. "See you all later." The Slytherins got up and made their way out quickly, wanting to get some sleep before the lesson.

The next few weeks went by faster than I wanted it too. Everyone was assisting in the search for any clues about the item the headmaster seemed persistent in hiding, yet it prodding my mind. Why would he mention to everyone about the third floor? Teenagers are most likely to get curious. I considered Owling my older sister about it, but dismissed that idea almost immediately. Halloween was approaching quickly and Cyaneus motivated everyone to put it on the backburner for the time being. But we did have a theory that it was some sort of creature blocking the door, if the weird sounds were anything to go by.

Eventually, I woke up in the Slytherin dormitory with something akin to a bad feeling. I hated having to wake up in the morning, my nose running from the sudden cold spell because someone forgot to turn on the heating charm. Grunting, I reluctantly pull the covers off and blew my nose a few times. I was jealous that everyone else was still enjoying the warm comforts of sleep. I got up to shower and get ready for the day to come. Once I was outside the Girl's Dormitories and slumped down in a plush chair, I decided to relax for a bit. I didn't realize I had dozed off until Lily was shaking me away. It only felt like two seconds.

"Hurry up, let's go eat! I heard that they're having a Halloween feast tonight! I'm so excited!" She squealed. I groaned and got out of the couch. Making my way up with the Slytherin girl, I let my mind buzz. It was strangely blank. It wasn't too long before we reached the Great Hall. She opened it and I was greeted with a decorated mess hall. Everything was dressed in orange, black, and yellow. Strange bats flew from the ceiling and the candles had been color charmed to Hallow's Eve coloring. It set me on edge, but I didn't let that show.

"Let's go sit down! They have muffins for breakfast."

This instantly perked me up as we hurried to the table still decked out in silver, a dark orange taking the place of emerald green. I sat down and swiped a chocolate muffin from the nearest plate. Daphne quirked an eyebrow as soon as I stuck the piece of heavenly baked pastry into my mouth.

"Where were you, I didn't see you in bed when I woke up," Tracey said, also eating a muffin. I shrugged, "Fell asleep on the couch."

Lily sighed, "That's alright. I didn't want you to miss class though, Professor Snape would've taken points away surely."

Everyone nodded in agreement. The tables were restricted to house members only for special days like these, so I didn't see Crocus or Cyaneus anywhere. Although, I had the tickle of a feeling that Cyaneus was hesitant about the whole third floor corridor thing. She mentioned it several times that they should probably just leave it alone. She didn't know what was behind there, yet she acted as if she did. But she clearly didn't.

"Rule follower…" I huffed to myself.

The day didn't hold anything promising in my eyes as I stared at the bats lining the ceiling. They swirled around, going in and out of the window to let the owls in, their leathery wings filling the hall with the steady beat of air against wing. Their tiny squeaks were soft, probably charmed that way. I wondered if they were actual bats or not.

Soon enough a stream of owls flew into the eating hall, interrupting the bats mid-flight. Some owls flew head first into several bats and some glared at each other while swerving in the air to avoid collision. But only one owl caught my eye. It was a distinct black eagle owl that was flying in, it's huge wingspan outperforming the other owls by a long shot. And it was heading straight for the Slytherin table.

"Is that your owl?" Lily asked, looking up at the huge owl, it's powerful muscles working to land the bird somewhere safe on the bench. It landed on a knob and a battered letter was sticking out of a small sack tied to the owl's foot.

"No, it's my sister's. She's an international owl, huge wingspan, powerful muscles. They have to fly over oceans." I said and added, "They land at the stations on nearby islands so they can rest."

"Interesting," Lily commented as I reached over and detached the letter. I offered the owl a muffin but it turned its head to the right and slightly up as if it was rejecting my pastry. "Fine," I thought, "don't eat anything."

Unfolding the letter I recognized Freya's loopy signature.

Dearest sister, Viridus,

'Dearest' because Diana's a thorn in my side.

By the time Astra delivers the letter to you, it should be Hallow's Eve. Aren't you excited? I can picture your face right now, you're probably looking at all of Hogwarts' decor and wishing you came with my to Illvermorny. I'm just kidding. Sort of. Anyways, I got a letter from the twins who got a letter from Flora and Jacob. I'm assuming you got the same thing, yes?

I read the leader sent and I was intrigued by what's happening at Hogwarts. Going to school across the ocean is both spectacular and frustrating at the same time. If you're really in danger at that school, please don't be hesitant to Floo call.

'Thunderbird the Adventurer' is the password.

Please use all your mystery skills if you must solve this case.

From your sister across the sea,

Freya

I was a bit confused by the letter, but folded it up and put it into my back for safekeeping. Right after that, breakfast was over. I took a few muffins (how could I not) and stuffed them in my robe pockets. I made a note to have the house elves wash this one later. Classes were coming up, I wish I could've stayed in bed.

. . . . .

Eventually we had our hour break before dinner and I was starving. I walked through the hallways nibbling on the last of my blueberry muffin. My footsteps echoed in the empty corridors as they took me almost mechanically to the library where I promised to meet up with Crocus and Cyaneus. I finished the slightly stale pastry and brushed my fingers off.

I turned a corner and the wooden doors to the library loomed in front of me. I pressed my hands against cold wood doors and nudged them open. I heard them creak open, the sound resounding throughout the stark silent library. Madam Pince looked up from a book and glared at me for making such a noise, but made no other move. Sighing, I moved my way across the aisles of bookshelves towards the back where I knew the tables would be.

Once I got there, I wasn't that surprised to see Cyaneus there already, her thin nose pressed to the pages of a fictional muggle book. I shrugged and sat down across from here.

"Where are the research books?" I asked her, successfully distracting her from the tale she was indulged in. She looked up, a question in her eyes before recognizing who it was. She down rather quickly. I raised an eyebrow suspiciously, something she did not catch.

"Um—I was thinking about that and well," Her grey-green eyes darted to her fingers again and towards my left. "I thought that it wasn't our place to be looking into this and that we should just leave it to the adults!"

Growling, I knew what the problem was now, "You know that the teachers will either silence us or something much worse. And they haven't told us what it is; they probably think it isn't a threat to our safety, our existence."

Shaking her head nervously, Cyaneus looked down, "I—I returned the books."

"You don't know how much this could matter! One of us could die because of what the headmaster is hiding on the third floor!"

"I do know!" Cyaneus shouted even louder, but not enough so to attract the attention of the librarian. "The professors probably know what they're doing! It always happens. In the muggle fiction anyways."

"Yes, but that's only muggle fiction." I said, landing my icy blue eyes on her green ones, in a coldness that matched the frigid nature of my eyes. She shrunk in her seat, but continued to hold my gaze. "But if we interfere, we could get into much more trouble than if we didn't."

"You think, you really truly think you know the outcome of this?!" I hissed. I felt anger boil deep within me. I tried to shake it off but it wouldn't go, it wasn't something I had felt in a long time. But I knew what it was. And I didn't particularly like it. I was being challenged on a intellectual level. It made my angry, she didn't know everything. No one did. I was willing to admit that, but to just think, to just jump to the conclusion..! It just, wasn't clicking in my mind.

"If you continue to let the adults control your life, you're digging your own grave from the start. There comes a point in your life where you take your own destiny into your own hands!" I growled, pressing my hands onto the table, burrowing my eyes into her neck. She kept her eyes on mine and I glared daggers at her.

"There was a reason. Because I know—I do know—that if we continue doing this, that it might mess something up. Like, a path. We could be interfering with someone else's destiny." Cyaneus mumbled.

"Screw that, this is my life and I take care of myself." I shouted coldly, the end of my fuse coming up shortly, "You think you know everything?! You're not a soothsayer! You're not even old enough to take divination!"

I struggled with my inner snake, who was eager to rear up and hack their sharp tongue on this know-it-all. She was refusing to think that the adults weren't always there for their best interests. She thought they were all happy go merry. Well adults weren't the case there. They always acted with other intentions in their mind. I learned that from a young age.

"I may not be all those things, but it doesn't mean you have to dismiss my idea. I know every time someone goes walking into danger. I see the signs! This sets off to many bells!" Cyaneus shoved the chair out of the way and stood face to face with me.

"You're a know-it-all you know!" I snarled quite harshly. She reeled back like she'd been slapped in the face.

"Well, if I'm a know-it-all then you're a cold hearted snake! You only use people to save your own hide!"

"Stuck up!"

I could barely register tears in my opponent's eyes. "Pureblood, you're just like them all, cold hatred of muggle borns like me!"

This time she turned tail and ran out of the library full sprint. I was heated, perspiration already building on my forehead. I felt like picking up the nearest book and flinging it across the room. I felt like punching a wall I was so frustrated. I growled and pounded my fists on the table.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked myself in a cold tone.


	7. Chapter 7 Do Not

**Chapter Seven. Do Not.**

I ran my hands through my dark brown hair as we were in Charms class. My partner next to me was Parvati Patil. More like, someone who was sitting next to me with the way she refused to talk to me. Maybe she was jealous of the way I charmed the feathers on my fifth try mid-class while she was still unsuccessful. I sighed, the class was almost over anyways.

Before I knew it, my wish came true. The bell rung for the class to be dismissed. I made a beeline for the door sack in hand. I was the first one out the door and I was so ready to eat. Nothing was better than enjoying Halloween dinner with your friends. With that thought, I twisted my head to look behind me. Ron seemed to be quite mad and was whispering to Dean and Thomas. I was surprised when I saw Hermione start to cry.

"Hermione!" I yelled when she broke up the boys and bolted past me. "Hermione, what's wrong?!" I shouted as she rushed down the corridors. She didn't even give me the decency of a last glance. I turned to glare at Ron, "What did you do?"

"What makes you think I was doing something?" Ron said to me.

"You made Hermione cry! It's rude to make a lady cry! You should know that!" I shouted at him, waving my hands. Harry was in sync with Ron, confusion written all over his face. I was about to get red-faced at Harry too before I remembered he grew up with muggles. He honestly needs to teach Ron some lessons. Harry was much more polite than Ron. And Ron was the pureblood raised here!

"Whatever, I'll meet Harry at dinner. I have to catch up to Hermione."

Harry gave me a concerned glance before making a left with the group of Gryffindors eager for dinner. I however, knew better. Storming down the hallways, I thought about how Ron was talking to Dean.

Oh, Hermione and Ron were paired up in class. And with Ron having obvious difficulties with charms, it was apparent to me that Hermione might have been little to push and Ron might have been to over reactive. Sighing, I decided to check several of the bathrooms. Leave it to the girl to go their first. I checked the Gryffindor ones first, the ones located by the dorms. No luck. Where there other bathrooms somewhere? I walked down the stairs and wondered if the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins had their own—

My thoughts were cut off as soon as I heard sobbing coming from the bathroom. I quickly rushed in that direction, abandoning the route to the dungeons. I turned a left corner and was surprised to find my fellow Gryffindor in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. And it wasn't just Hermione, another Ravenclaw was with her.

"B-boys can be so mean!"

"I-I know, I was just t-trying to help!"

"Y-yeah."

"Hermione, I'm sorry," I said, loud enough for my voice to carry. Her head spun around so fast, her hair flew up and she looked like a top for a second. She honed her brown eyes onto mine and I let my shoulders drop.

"F-for what?" she barked hoarsely.

"Ron was behaving rudely. He should know better than to insult someone who was just trying to help him." I reasoned from outside the bathrooms, afraid to go in, although I could clearly see the girls in the mirror reflection. Water was dripping all around them and their eyes were puffed up and red.

"Let's go to dinner, both of you, I'm sure you're hungry," I said friendly, but leaving no room for discussion. They nodded glumly walking out of the bathrooms. When I saw Hermione I reached out to hug her. She was a smart witch and I knew that going into the wizarding world as a muggleborn was hard on some people. I looked towards the Ravenclaw, who seemed too small for eleven.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just had an argument with a Slytherin." she said quietly, directing her grey-green eyes to the floor.

"Did they hurt you?" I asked, instantly ready to track the slimy snake down and beat them to a pulp for hurting a mere first year. Especially one who was probably small then them. I wonder what jynxes—

"No."

There were my thoughts be cut off again. Shaking my head, I moved to lead them away from the bathroom when the Ravenclaw shook my shoulder. Her eyes were wide in fear. "What is it?!" I demanded, anxious to get to dinner.

"T-t-t-t-"

"TROLL!" Hermione bellowed as loud as her lungs allowed her to. I snapped my hands from their position by my side and grabbed their wrists in a death grip, "Run!" I shouted while pulling them away from the Troll who was, in fact, turning around the corner. I didn't turn around to see them stand in place. Plunging my hands into my pocket, I withdrew a sleek redwood wand. Dragon heartstring core.

"What am I going to do?!" I thought as soon as the troll took a hungry glance in my direction. I waved my wand, maybe a lumos would distract it?

"LUMOS!" I shouted as loudly as I could. The light from my wand was only a flicker before it left the tip of my wand. The Troll was unaffected as it lifted it club, ready to swing. It lifted its club and I turned around and ran at the two girls. They too backed up and I narrowly escaped the first attack. It was confused as it did not hit anything except stone.

I had a thought and fired a Severing Charm. Made to cut fabric, the charm was weak against the Trolls tough hide. There was nothing else to do. We were back against a wall, a corner actually. The only way out was under the Troll's legs…

"Incendio!"

A tall witch skidded around the corner, a burst of flames blooming from the end of her wand. It flew into the air like will-o-wisps and came into contact with the Troll's tough hide. The mild burn was still enough to distract it. The Troll turned around and gave us enough time to run. The two girls ran down the corridor, genuinely horrified. But when Hermione noticed I wasn't following them, she stopped.

"Rufus!"

"I have to help!" I cried.

"Hermione, I'm sorry!" Here were Harry and Ron making a run for it down the hallway. How did they know to come this way? I was relieved in spite of this. Ron hugged Hermione, the other girl to shocked to say anything in response. The Ravenclaw was staring wide-eyed at the other girl, her black hair flying around and she dodged another swing of the club. "Where did she learn how to do that?" I wondered, her wand flicking through the air, a Severing Charm catapulting through the air and slicing at the Troll's eyes. The monster growled and swung its club faster. I flinched.

"The levitating charm! Use the levitating charm on the club!" Hermione shouted. Ron and Harry finally got it together and advanced on the Troll. Ron held up his wand, ready to perform the thing that got them into this mess in the first place.

"Hey, squat face!" Harry yelled at the Troll. The monster was unable to process the insult but turned around anyway. I held my breath as Ron swished and flicked his wand, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The spell came into contact with the Troll's club and it flew out of its hands. Confused at where it's precious smashing thing could've gone, I watched it fall onto the Troll's head. A positively good thunk could be heard as the Troll fell to the ground. I was astonished.

That feeling was ruined by the thunder of feet coming their way.

"Ms. Accinctus, what Merlin's name overcame your senses?!"

"Professor!"

I watched the opposing girl's face light up in shock. I was also surprised when the teachers turned a corner. A Hufflepuff girl was trailing behind her, out of breath from all the running. She looked up to meet the gaze of someone standing behind me. I turned to the Ravenclaw. She was struggling to keep her eyes in one place. They darted around like trapped fish.

"It wasn't her fault! The Troll just appeared out of nowhere and I was trying to get Hermione to dinner and—"

"I am very disappointed in my lions. Taking on a full grown Troll! You could've gotten yourselves killed!" Professor McGonagall howled, her Scottish voice reverberating on the stone flooring. Her, standing next to Professor Snape made me shiver. They were absolutely menacing together. Potions bat of the dungeons and a furious lion of the castle. Standing together?! Their eyes were lit with fury.

"I-I-I-"

"Professor it was my fault!" Hermione said, cutting Ron off.

"How so Ms. Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked venomously. My eyes widened at her lie. Why was she taking the blame for people who had caused the whole mess in the first place? I didn't dare give away any hint that she was lying.

"I-I thought I could take on the troll by myself," Hermione muttered, her words trailing off so everyone strained to hear it. I was actually surprised that no one corrected her. Our Head of House thinned her lips in what was clearly doubt, "R-Rufus came to look for me because he said I couldn't handle it on my own. Harry and Ron followed."

"I'd be dead without them."

"Five points are taken for your outrageous behavior," she took a breath, "And five points for sheer dumb luck," McGonagall growled. I looked at Harry's face judging his expression. Honestly, I thought we would've gotten off way worse. If Snape were our head of house… I think he'd be mad beyond belief. Harry seemed relieved like a great burden had been taken off from his shoulders. Hermione shared the same gaze.

Finally, McGonagall shooed us off to our dormitories. The Ravenclaw girl was left behind with the Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Not thinking too much of them, I tailed Harry, Hermione, and Ron to our dorms. When we clambered up the shifting stairs, I shot everyone a sorry glance before going to bed. They stayed behind in the Common Room. I myself saw no reason too, they were going to get in trouble. Again! Before I slipped behind the first year's dorm door I locked eyes with Harry before heading to my four poster bed. Falling asleep after that long day.


	8. Chapter 8 Concern You

**Chapter Eight. Concern - You?**

I swallowed down some unnecessary pride next morning, feeling the insane amount of shame wash over me like a tidal wave of messenger owls. Instead of getting out of bed like I normally would, I buried my face in my fleece blanket. Everything was a bit too much, being a year behind everyone didn't pressure me too much. But now I felt like it would've been easier just to admit into Hogwarts the following year. Now my only friends — no I don't even deserve to call them that — are going to hate me. I was the one who made a huge dramatic scene in the library. I should've stayed out of people's way like I normally do…

Wiping away tears that I dared to let roll down my face, I pushed away from the warmth of my comforter and let my feet drop the cool floor. Pulling myself out of bed reluctantly, I got dressed in my school robes, adorning the crest of Ravenclaw with a tiny smile. Shuffling to the bathroom, I made sure to scout out any stragglers. The Ravenclaw girls were to 'messy' for my taste and I preferred to avoid them in the morning. Attempting to shake away my morning worries, I faced myself in the mirror.

"What a mess."

I scoffed at myself before I grabbing a brush after unlocking my medicine cabinet (a necessary procedure) and dragging it ruthlessly through my shoulder length, golden brown hair. Gritting my teeth, I finished untangling my hair. I pulled out the locks left behind and placed it back in its correct spot while simultaneously grasping a navy blue toothbrush. I grabbed the toothpaste and started brushing white fangs people liked to call teeth.

When I was done, it was too early to go downstairs. But I was anxious to go and confront Viridus and Crocus. What would they say? Shout at me? Choose to just flat out ignore me? I shuddered at the possibilities, the ones making their annoying clinking noises as they spilled from a source unknown.

"EEP!" I shouted, flailing my arms to catch my fall. I almost fell down the Ravenclaw stairs. Glancing over my back, I let out an audible sigh of relief. Slowly this time, I move my trembling legs down the steps and out into the cold corridors.

"Where would they be at a time like this?" I asked myself out loud.

"The Great Hall? Breakfast does start in half an hour."

I shuffled down the halls, listening to the beat of her own heart. I turn around several winding corners before letting her eyes settled on the large brown doors that opened up into the Hogwarts Mess Hall. I eventually pushed open the double doors and looked around the Great Hall, sweat forming on my forehead. Awe great, they're here. I cringed internally.

I tried to slip past the two students, but the golden eyes of the Hufflepuff caught my almost silent form. She waved me over and I froze like a deer caught in headlights. Crocus' movements alerted the Slytherin. She turned around and crossed her arms, a blank expression covering her face. I couldn't tell if she wasn't angry at me or not. So I minimized the distance between us in a few seconds.

"Hey, Cyaneus! I'm sorry about what happened yesterday!" Crocus chirped out quickly. I sweatdropped. Before I could get in a sentence, she continued. "And I'm sorry we didn't get to you quicker. I had no idea where you were. I was so worried!" Crocus stopped suddenly. She turned around and gave an expectant glance at Viridus. She shuffled her feet and folded her arms. She let out a little huff.

"Fffffine. I'm sssorry!" Viridus let the words hiss out through her teeth. I diverted my eyes from hers and she diverted her icy ones from mine. I heard the tapping of a foot on the ground. I wiggled my fingers and tried to meet Viridus' eyes, knowing that Crocus was expecting me to apologize too. She kept moving them away from me. I coughed weakly.

"I-I'm sorry too," I started out feeling as awkward as a baby duck on thin ice, "About — you know. The argument." I started trailing off. I hate apologies. I hate apologies. Viridus finally brought her eyes up to meet mine. I couldn't tell if she was going to refuse to speak to me or something. But I stood my ground and sheepishly met her pupils.

"I'm sorry for calling you some pretty mean things," she started, tightening her grip on something in her pocket. Probably her wand. "It wasn't exactly the best way to treat someone. I was just — angry… I don't like it when people don't notify me first. It makes me feel, kind of like someone's doing something behind my back?"

At this, the taller witch shrugged weakly. "You don't have to forgive me if you don't want to."

I felt like crying, the tears already building up behind my eyes. But I held them back, refusing to let to roll if her opponent wasn't going to. "I'll forgive you. I'm sorry for acting like a stuck up."

"Thank you," Crocus smiled, "I guess I'm here to keep you two in line huh? Let's eat." Viridus chuckled weakly before sitting down. I looked at them for a split second before hesitantly sitting down next to the Slytherin myself. No more shouting? No breaking of the fragile friendship? If you could call it that, I wasn't sure if they really did consider me their friend. Unsure, I just went with it. If they were going to leave, they had already passed up several chances to do so.

As we ate in silence, the students who already weren't in the Great Hall started walking in. Sleep covered their eyes still as students started sitting down at their respective tables, chatting lazily with other sleepy kids. The one or two students who weren't up late last night gossiping rolled their eyes at their housemates for not listening to their advice. At least, that's what I imagined an older Slytherin doing to the younger first years. I wasn't too sure.

I continued to cut chunks into my waffle, eating in mulling quietness. Crocus, who was already done with her chocolate drizzled pancakes, reached over and pulled some strawberries out of a bowl. "So, Viridus, since you're into Quidditch. I was wondering, what position are you going to try out next you?" The brown haired witch asked, trying to start off their morning a bit more casually.

"Chaser, definitely."

"Cool," Crocus finished eating a strawberry, "What about your family? Are they into Quidditch?"

"Yeah," Viridus asked, shifting her eyes nervously, "Why?"

"Just curious." The Hufflepuff responded.

"Okay. Well, Diana likes being the Seeker. My two brothers. Raimei and Denko, they like playing Chaser with me. And Freya, although she isn't the best player, likes playing Keeper." Viridus explained in a listing kind of tone.

"That's cool." Crocus said joyously.

I didn't make a sound as she finished off her bowl of fruits. I looked up at the roof, noticing that the magical sky was displaying a rainy day to match the weather outside. It was going to be a long day. That, I knew, was for certain. I still had a question in my head, however. Were we still in pursuit of the mysterious third corridor?

. . . . .

I walked up onto the bleachers to view the first Quidditch game of the season. All the Ravenclaws around me were bustling to get a good view and root for whoever. The Ravenclaw clique of girls was huddled at a tolerable distance, so I sat down and wrapped my winter cloak around me. A brown haired girl named Lisa Turpin sat down next to me.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?" she asked me.

I shrugged, "You sat down anyways. Saying no would just be rude."

She chuckled at my reply, "I don't really like those girls over there," her pale left hand was raised to gesture towards the group of Ravenclaws I didn't bother to learn the names of. "They're always talking about 'hot guys' or 'which girl's better than another.' It's honestly too much. We're only eleven for Merlin's sake."

I nodded my head in agreement, "They'll all a bunch of dimwits."

Lisa turned her head around to glance at the girls once more and leaned over to whisper something in my ears, "Honestly, if you ask me, I think all the houses get their fair share of questionable people. I mean, I don't know how smart they are, but they sure ain't going to the library anytime soon."

"And everyone rips on Hufflepuff for being the accepting house. I mean, what if you're not loyal, brave, intelligent, or cunning? Where do you go then? I guess it all comes down the preference." I muttered to the other Ravenclaw, who I felt strangely comfortable around. Maybe it was because we were in the same house and shared the same opinions.

Lisa opened her mouth to respond, but the Quidditch game just started. We both turned ourselves around to watch the game. Gryffindor vs Slytherin and it wasn't going to be a fair match. These were two teams that took Quidditch too seriously. But it was going to be entertaining nonetheless. I watched players fly to and fro. Since I picked up a book on Quidditch from the library, I pulled it out of my pocket.

Might as well learn about it so I'm not left in the dark, am I right?

I flipped to a page on Quidditch rules, scanning the parchment quickly. Huh, these rules weren't too complex. Anyone could memorize these. I thought. But, they wouldn't prevent someone from getting seriously injured. I guess that's why there are so many fouls.

Lifting my head from the page, I was just in time to watch the Gryffindor seeker get shoved so they didn't get the walnut sized snitch in time. I sighed and muttered, "Foul."

Lisa heard me and turned my way, "You know the rules?" I heard Madam Hooch blow her whistle to hand out a penalty.

"Not really, I checked out a book about it yesterday." I showed the brown eyed girl my newly checked out library book. It had obviously known some previous owners with the way the cover was torn. But despite that, it was in pretty good condition.

"Oh, cool. Can I see?" She asked. I nodded and she looked through it. I watched her finger to the page I was just on before I continued watching the Quidditch game. Currently, Slytherin was up by ten points. But then I watched as the broom the Gryffindor Seeker was riding started to twist and turn in midair. It shook and bucked, trying it's best to shake the wizard riding it off. This was strange, the home bought brooms usually didn't do this. And it looked very similar to something I'd read about before.

Enchantments? I thought, remembering a random muggle fiction I had read in my elementary years. It must have been something close to that, so I scanned the crowd. Crocus was freaking out, almost trampling people to reach the Slytherins. I watched her scramble to Viridus but I couldn't hear what she was saying over the noise. Oh, and the fact that the Slytherin stands were cut off from the Ravenclaw stands with the Hufflepuff section.

I dismissed my friend's antics, and the small feeling of "how come she didn't come ask me," as I looked over towards the teacher's booth. Two older Gryffindors were now flying around trying to help the bucking broom. I studied each of the teachers. McGonagall wouldn't. Flitwick wasn't doing anything suspicious. Not Sprout.

Soon I eliminated all the teachers except Quirrell and Snape. They both had their eyes wide open, muttering something under their breaths. GOSH. I didn't think too highly of either of them. But then again, what motive did they have for trying to kill Harry. I think that's the kid's name. I haven't been paying attention to the grapevine.

A flicker of movement caught my eye and I saw a bushy haired girl run across the stands towards the teacher's booth. At least someone knows something. I didn't move, there was nothing I could do. Any besides, the Gryffindor looked she could handle it.

I watched her closely as everyone was focused on Harry. She uncapped something, I couldn't see exactly as players would block my view every two seconds, but I swore she uncapped a fire in a jar. I knew it was possible, but to be that reckless? No wonder she's in Gryffindor. But her strategy was effective, to say the least. The boy's broom stopped bucking.

After all of that, Harry had barely any time to recover before he shot to the ground like a bullet. Shoot! This is why I can never play Quidditch. I thought to myself as Harry choked out the golden snitch. The match was done for and the Gryffindors had won.

I made my way out of the bleachers, Lisa walking beside me. She said goodbye to me as I made my way around the crowd towards Crocus and Viridus, parting ways so she could get back to the school. I waved to them and walked up.

"Did you see the teacher's box?" I asked Viridus in a hurry, knowing she probably saw the same thing as I did. I was kind of comforting to have someone intellectual to talk to (who wasn't from my own house). And after we got over the argument we had back in the library, we were quite content to study in our little study group again.

"Yeah, I did. This is getting quite suspicious. What reason would either teach have to bewitch a broom like that?" Viridus whispered after dragging us to the side.

The topic of conversation was really not going somewhere I was comfortable with. After all, I was the one who objects to snooping around in what seemed like the teachers' business. But the adults didn't really have their act together, did they? "M-maybe it h-has something to do with the third floor," I said it like it was a question. I shrunk under Viridus' gaze, worried that she would object to it. I hate thinking about the past.

"I thought that too, and if one of them is after what Dumbledore's hiding, why?" the Slytherin asked, putting a finger on her chin. She shrugged, "I don't know, but I'm more suspicious of Quirrell."

"Why? They're both shady." I heard Crocus muttered.

I turned and looked at Crocus in surprise, "Professor Snape's not that bad, maybe a little on the stricter side, but I enjoy his classes! Potions are fun."

Crocus sighed and I thought she was being a little to bias when she thought of Professor Snape. "Yeah, I guess. But what reason does Quirrel have?" The Hufflepuff asked.

"Shady people stutter," She eventually pointed out, coming to her own reason, "And I heard he didn't stutter last year."

"Where'd you get that idea?! Shady people stutter... That's offensive Crocus!" Viridus reported. The Hufflepuff, well, huffed, "Muggle fiction."

"It's only fiction."

"Well, magic is fiction to muggles. Yet, here we are." I shrugged.

"You guys reference Muggle fiction a lot. Is it really that interesting?" Viridus asked and I turned to her with the most awed look on my face.

"You must try it! There's this one series with a lot of blood slaughter and the characters are great, if you really think about it, the main character might just be a little-" I said, going on a little tangent. Crocus stopped me before I continued, preventing me from spoiling the series. Thank goodness.

"Thanks, sorry. I just really like it."

"I do too," Crocus smiled, a little too widely for my liking, "But the series by the same author where a human falls into an underground civilization is much better!"

"I thought that was a video game?"

"No, you're thinking of something different. It's by the same author, they have giant bats and stuff."

"Oh, I've never read it."

"You should."

"Okay," Viridus said with a deep sigh, "Can we please get back on topic?"

I chuckled nervously, "Yeah. What were we talking about?"

"Why evil people stutter." Crocus chirped.

"THEY DO NOT STUTTER!" Viridus exploded, throwing her hands into the air. "First of all, most stuttering people are actually probably smart enough to be in Ravenclaw. Second, of all, that's just a stereotype."

"But what if a stuttering person only stuttered because they were afraid of someone finding out a huge secret?" Crocus posed as her counter argument, "And besides, Quirrell wasn't born a stutterer. I'm sure stuttering people are plenty smart."

"This is getting offensive," I interjected.

"I agree," Viridus rolled her eyes, "My grandpa stutters and he's probably the smartest person I know."

"Wizard?" I asked.

"Pureblood through and through," she smiled, "You can't make fun of him now!" Viridus declared this proudly. Crocus apologized and I just sighed in the background. "Okay, so say it really is Quirrel and he really does want whatever's on the third floor. What would he want it for?"

"Personal gains, obviously!" Viridus shouted, "Everything is for personal gain."

"That's not true." Crocus said.

Viridus shrugged off her comment, "Okay, so let's say it's Quirrell,"

"Which it might not be," Crocus added.

"And it's complete because of personal gain,"

"Which it might not be." Crocus said slightly louder than necessary.

"Should we stop him?" Viridus asked both of us. I looked at her and I thought about it for a few seconds. I mean, theoretically speaking, how would one man, stealing something, affect anyone?

"YES! Theoretically speaking aside, stealing something is bad." Crocus said.

Viridus looked like she was deep in thought so I gave my own opinion, "Well, yeah sure. But what are students like us going to do? I mean, the teachers don't look they have it together. Maybe they do? But did you see how they reacted to Harry's broom? No one moved to help. I don't know, waiting seems to be the best option in my opinion."

"Well," Viridus started slowly, "The counter to a curse uses the same movements as actually cursing something. Open eyes, straight face, absolute focus, and the words. And there were two of them doing the same thing. We don't know what they were saying. So it's a toss up."

"So, you're saying one of them was trying to save Harry?!" Crocus asked, a weird hopefulness in her voice.

"At least the teachers have someone, although we don't know which teacher it is, who's competent enough to do something," Viridus concluded. "Let's speculate about this tomorrow, I want to know about this 'Muggle fiction' you guys keep referencing."

Crocus and I both started grinning like idiots as all three of us started walking inside.


End file.
